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Act Natural: a Cultural History of Misadventures in
Parenting. Jennifer Traig, $33.50
From a distinctive, inimitable voice, a wickedly funny
and fascinating romp through the strange and often contradictory history of
Western parenting
Why do we read our kids fairy tales about homicidal
stepparents? How did helicopter parenting develop if it used to be perfectly
socially acceptable to abandon your children? Why do we encourage our babies to
crawl if crawling won’t help them learn to walk?
These are just some of the questions that came to
Jennifer Traig when — exhausted, frazzled, and at sea after the birth of her two children — she
began to interrogate the traditional parenting advice she’d been conditioned to
accept at face value. The result is Act Natural, hilarious and deft
dissection of the history of Western parenting, written with the signature
biting wit and deep insights Traig has become known for. Moving from ancient
Rome to Puritan New England to the Dr. Spock craze of mid-century America,
Traig cheerfully explores historic and present-day parenting techniques ranging
from the misguided, to the nonsensical, to the truly horrifying. Be it
childbirth, breastfeeding, or the ways in which we teach children how to sleep,
walk, eat, and talk, she leaves no stone unturned in her quest for answers:
Have our techniques actually evolved into something better? Or are we still
just scrambling in the dark? |
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Adoption at the Movies: a Year of Adoption-Friendly
Movie Nights to Get Your Family Talking. Addison Cooper, $25.95
Get your family talking about adoption with the ultimate
collection of films to help the whole family to explore their feelings in a fun
and safe way.
With a film for each week of the year, Addison Cooper has
compiled the best movies, new and old, for family-friendly viewing. Among those
featured are Finding Dory, Frozen, Paddington, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Kung
Fu Panda, Star Wars, Divergent, The Blind Side and I am Sam. Carefully
selected, the movies included will help families to comfortably talk about
important adoption-related topics. They are accompanied by descriptions of the
themes and ideas to get the conversations started. Helping all members of the
family to explore both the pain and joy of adoption, they cover a range of
issues which can arise such as culture, identity, control, and reunification.
With something for everyone — from kids, to teens, to grown-ups — this is a
must-have for all adoptive families. |
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Adventures in Risky Play: What is Your YES? Rusty Keeler, $49.50
"Rusty Keeler's terrific book will inspire parents and caregivers to raise courageous, resilient children and young adults — with a little help from nature."
- Richard Louv, author of Our Wild Calling and Last Child In the Woods
Adventures in Risky Play: What is Your Yes? goes to the heart of risk-taking and children. As parents and educators working with young children, we all have boundaries and feelings around what risky play is allowed. Rusty Keeler invites us to examine the cage of boundaries that we have created for ourselves and our children. He challenges us to rattle our cage and discover where the lines are movable. In our role as parents, educators, and caretakers, when we allow children to play and confront risk on their own terms, we see them develop, hold their locus of control and make choices on how to navigate the bumpy terrain of a situation. What better teaching tool for life is there? |
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Ahead of the Game: the Parents’ Guide
to Youth Sports Concussion. Rosemarie Scolaro
Moser, $18.95
Sports-related concussions, also known
as mild traumatic brain injuries, have become a national epidemic. New research
has shown that there is no such thing as a simple “bell-ringer,” and that
sending a child back on the field too soon puts his or her physical and
emotional health at risk. Yet it is all too easy to miss the warning signs of
concussion, or to encourage kids to “walk off” a potentially devastating
injury. Ahead of the Game is the first book to give parents of
school-aged athletes the tools they need to keep kids safe on the field, court,
diamond, or rink.
Ahead of the Game clearly lays out
the basics of identification, management, and treatment of concussion in kids,
and details the vital steps we can take to protect their most vital organ — the
brain — before an injury occurs. |
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All the Rage: Mothers, Fathers, and the Myth of Equal
Parenting. Darcy Lockman, $21.99
How, in a culture that pays lip service to women’s
equality and lauds the benefits of father involvement — benefits that extend far
beyond the well-being of the kids themselves — can a commitment to fairness in
marriage melt away upon the arrival of children?
Counting on male partners who will share the burden,
women today have been left with what political scientists call unfulfilled,
rising expectations. Historically these disappointed expectations lie at the
heart of revolutions, insurgencies, and civil unrest. If so many couples are
living this way, and so many women are angered or just exhausted by it, why do
we remain so stuck? Where is our revolution, our insurgency, our civil unrest?
Darcy Lockman drills deep to find answers, exploring how
the feminist promise of true domestic partnership almost never, in fact, comes
to pass. Starting with her own marriage as a ground zero case study, she moves
outward, chronicling the experiences of a diverse cross-section of women
raising children with men; visiting new mothers’ groups and pioneering
co-parenting specialists; and interviewing experts across academic fields, from
gender studies professors and anthropologists to neuroscientists and
primatologists. Lockman identifies three tenets that have upheld the cultural
gender division of labor and peels back the ways in which both men and women
unintentionally perpetuate old norms.
If we can all agree that equal pay for equal work should
be a given, can the same apply to unpaid work? Can justice finally come home? |
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All You Need Is Love: Celebrating Families of All
Shapes and Sizes. Shanni Collins, $21.95
All families come in different shapes and sizes, but they
are all special when they love and respect each other. These rhyming stories
are a celebration of the diversity of families and encourage inclusion and
acceptance in a child's relationships.
By promoting diversity and understanding in family life
and elsewhere, these stories support a positive approach to life at a young
age, which fosters strong mental health and well-being. Each page is dedicated
to a different family, with stories exploring adoption, fostering, disability,
race, gender, and illness. Filled with humour and delightfully illustrated,
children will love reading these stories with friends, family and in school
again and again. |
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The Awakened Family: a Revolution in Parenting.
Shefali Tsabary, $23.00
From the author of the bestselling book The Conscious
Parent —
We all have the capacity to raise children who are highly
resilient and emotionally connected. However, many of us are unable to because
we are blinded by modern misconceptions of parenting and our own inner
limitations. In The Awakened Family, Shefali Tsabary will show you how
you can cultivate a relationship with your children so they can thrive;
moreover, you can be transformed to a state of greater calm, compassion and
wisdom as well.
This book will take you on a journey to transcending your
fears and illusions around parenting and help you become the parent you always
wanted to be: fully present and conscious. It will arm you with practical,
hands-on strategies and real-life examples that show the extraordinary power of
being a conscious parent. |
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Balanced and Barefoot: How Unrestricted Outdoor Play
Makes for Strong, Confident, and Capable Children. Angela Hanscom, $25.95
Today’s kids have adopted sedentary lifestyles filled
with television, video games, and computer screens. But more and more, studies
show that children need “rough and tumble” outdoor play in order to develop
their sensory, motor, and executive functions.
Using the same philosophy that lies at the heart of her
popular TimberNook program — that nature is the ultimate sensory experience, and
that psychological and physical health improves for children when they spend
time outside on a regular basis — author Angela Hanscom offers several strategies
to help children thrive, even in an urban environment.
Today it is rare to find children rolling down hills,
climbing trees, or spinning in circles just for fun. We’ve taken away
merry-go-rounds, shortened the length of swings, and done away with
teeter-totters to keep children safe. Children have fewer opportunities for
unstructured outdoor play than ever before, and recess times at school are
shrinking due to demanding educational environments. With this book, you’ll
discover little things you can do anytime, anywhere to help your kids achieve
the movement they need to be happy and healthy in mind, body, and spirit. |
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Being at Your Best When Your Kids Are at Their Worst:
Practical Compassion in Parenting. Kim John Payne, $25.95
When children are at their most difficult and challenging
situations arise, how can we react in a way that reflects our family values and
expectations? Often, when children “push our buttons,” we find ourselves
reacting in ways that are far from our principles, often further inflaming a
situation. When our children are at their worst, they need us to be at our
best — or as close to it as we can be. Educator and family counselor Kim John
Payne, author of Simplicity Parenting, offers techniques that simply and
directly shift these damaging patterns in communication and parental behavior.
These grounded and practical strategies will help you:
- Slow down the interaction
- Be more in control of your reactions
- Open up a much wider range of helpful responses
- Sense what your child’s deeper needs are even though
they are misbehaving
- Respond in a way that gives your child a feeling of
being heard and still puts a boundary in place
Payne’s meditative approach can be done anywhere,
anytime; it lifts you out of old, unwanted patterns of action-reaction and
prepares you so that the voice you speak with is closer to the parent you want
to be. His concrete and simple techniques can help you, and your children, be
at your best, even in the most challenging of times. |
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Being Both: Embracing Two Religions in One Interfaith
Family. Susan Katz Miller, $27.00
Susan Katz Miller grew up with a Jewish father and
Christian mother, and was raised Jewish. Now in an interfaith marriage herself,
she is one of the growing number of Americans who are boldly electing to raise
children with both faiths, rather than in one religion or the other (or without
religion). In Being Both, Miller draws on original surveys and
interviews with parents, students, teachers, and clergy, as well as on her own
journey, to chronicle this controversial grassroots movement. Miller argues
that there are distinct benefits for families who reject the false choice of
“either/or” and instead embrace the synergy of being both. Reporting on
hundreds of parents and children who celebrate two religions, she documents why
couples make this choice, and how children appreciate dual-faith education.
Miller includes advice and resources for interfaith families planning
baby-welcoming and coming-of-age ceremonies, and seeking to find or form
interfaith education programs. And finally, looking beyond Judaism and
Christianity, Being Both provides the first glimpse of the
next interfaith wave: intermarried Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist couples raising
children in two religions. Being Both is at once a rousing declaration of the benefits of
celebrating two religions, and a blueprint for interfaith families who are
seeking guidance and community support. |
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Being a Dad Is Weird: Lessons in Fatherhood from My
Family to Yours. Ben Falcone, $31.99
Though he’s best known for his appearances in the movie
Enough Said, as well as his hilarious role as Air Marshall Jon in Bridesmaids,
Ben Falcone isn’t a big shot movie star director at home. There, he’s just dad.
In this winning collection of stories, Ben shares his funny and poignant
adventures as the husband of Melissa McCarthy, and the father of their two
young daughters. He also shares tales from his own childhood in Southern
Illinois, and life with his father — an outspoken, brilliant, but unconventional
man with a big heart and a somewhat casual approach to employment named Steve
Falcone.
Ben is just an ordinary dad who has his share of fights
with other parents blocking his view with their expensive electronic devices at
school performances. Navigating the complicated role of being the only male in
a house full of women, he finds himself growing more and more concerned as he
sounds more and more like his dad. While Steve Falcone may not have been the
briefcase and gray flannel suit type, he taught Ben priceless lessons about
what matters most in life. A supportive, creative, and downright funny dad,
Steve made sure his sons’ lives were never dull — a sense of adventure that
carries through this warm, sometimes hilarious, and poignant memoir. |
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Being Happy, Raising Happy: the Empowered Mom's Guide
to Helping Her Spirited Child Bloom. Maureen Lake, $21.95
Designing a wellness program that honestly fits your
family and lifestyle takes time, determination, and loving passion. Being
Happy, Raising Happy is for loving and caring moms who somehow forgot about
their own needs, desires, and the impact they want to make in the world and
want to start their journey towards revitalizing the mind, body, and spirit.
Maureen Lake teaches moms:
- The reason why parenting a spirited child can cause more stress
and anxiety than parenting children who don’t have the same challenges
- The importance of cherishing themselves and setting clear
boundaries so they can nurture their child
- How to uncover the areas of their lives that are causing the most
stress and anxiety
- How to regain footing by following a five-step process toward
peace of mind
- How to better manage kids and family with a nutrition plan to
increase energy and other wellness tips that boost the immune system and create
better overall health
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Blissfully Blended Bullshit: the Uncomfortable Truth
of Blending Families. Rebecca Eckler, $20.99 
Blissfully Blended Bullshit is a witty, engaging,
refreshingly candid chronicle of a modern family’s journey as they blend
households. We follow Eckler as her partner and two children move in with her
and her daughter. Then, thanks to a reverse vasectomy, they add another baby to
the mix. Readers go along for the ride in this poignant, often hilarious tale,
as everyone attempts to navigate their new roles: the children, the in-laws,
the exes, the ex-in-laws, and even the dog.
Lighthearted and intimate, this is an indispensable story
about a family determined to make blended splendid, and the juicy truth of what
it’s really like behind closed doors in what is rapidly becoming a typical
family makeup. Still, if Eckler had to blend again, would she? |
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Boosting Brain Power: 52 Ways to Use What Science
Tells Us. Jill Stamm, $18.95
If the timing is right, the learning that occurs in the
first five years can be a gold mine, promoting valuable cognitive and physical
development that lasts a lifetime. Boosting Brain Power provides 52
strategies — one for every week of the year — to help stimulate healthy brain
growth in young children. In addition to well-researched strategies, each
snippet of information offers evidence-based instructions for how to bring the
concepts to life. |
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BOYS: What it Takes To Become a Man. Rachel Giese,
$19.99 
The successes of feminism have led to greater opportunities
for girls, by challenging stifling stereotypes about femininity and broadening
the understanding of what it means to be female. While boys have travelled
alongside this transformation, narrow definitions of masculinity and manliness
haven’t faced the same degree of scrutiny. Whether they’re being urged to “man
up” or warned that “boys don’t cry,” young men are subjected to damaging
messages about manliness: they must muzzle their emotions and never show
weakness, dominate girls and compete with one another.
Boys: What It Means to Become a Man examines how
these toxic rules can hinder boys’ emotional and social development. If girls
can expand the borders of femaleness, could boys also be set free of limiting,
damaging expectations about manhood and masculinity? Could what’s been labelled
“the boy crisis” be the beginning of a revolution in how we raise young men?
Drawing on extensive research and interviews with
educators, activists, parents, psychologists, sociologists, and young men,
Giese — mother to a son herself — examines the myths of masculinity and the
challenges facing boys today. She reports from boys-only sex education classes
and recreational sports leagues; talks to parents of transgender children and
plays video games with her son. She tells stories of boys navigating the
transition into manhood and how the upheaval in cultural norms about sex,
sexuality and the myths of masculinity have changed the coming of age process
for today’s boys. With lively reportage and clear-eyed analysis, Giese reveals
that the movement for gender equality has the potential to liberate us all. |
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Brain-Based Parenting: the
Neuroscience of Caregiving for Healthy Attachment. Daniel
Hughes & Jonathan Baylin, $39.95
In this groundbreaking exploration of
the brain mechanisms behind healthy caregiving, attachment specialist Daniel
Hughes and veteran clinical psychologist Jonathan Baylin guide readers through
the intricate web of neuronal processes, hormones, and chemicals that drive — and
sometimes thwart — our caregiving impulses, uncovering the mysteries of the
parental brain.
The biggest challenge to parents, Hughes and Baylin explain, is learning how to
regulate emotions that arise — feeling them deeply and honestly while staying
grounded and aware enough to preserve the parent–child relationship. Learning
to be a "good parent" is contingent upon learning how to manage stress,
understand its brain-based cues, and respond in a way that will set the brain
back on track. With this awareness, we learn how to approach kids with renewed
playfulness, acceptance, curiosity, and empathy, re-regulate our caregiving
systems, foster deeper social engagement, and facilitate our children's
development.
Infused with clinical insight, illuminating case examples, and helpful
illustrations, Brain-Based Parenting brings the science of caregiving
to light for the first time. Far from just managing our children's behavior, we
can develop our "parenting brains," and with a better understanding of the
neurobiological roots of our feelings and our own attachment histories, we can
transform a fraught parent-child relationship into an open, regulated, and
loving one. |
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Brainstorm: the Power and Purpose of
the Teenage Brain. Daniel Siegel, $24.00
Between the ages of 12 and 24, the brain
changes in important, and oftentimes maddening, ways. It’s no wonder that many
parents approach their child’s adolescence with fear and trepidation. According
to renowned neuropsychiatrist Daniel Siegel, however, if parents and teens can
work together to form a deeper understanding of the brain science behind all
the tumult, they will be able to turn conflict into connection and form a
deeper understanding of one another.
In Brainstorm, Siegel illuminates how brain development impacts teenagers’
behavior and relationships. Drawing on important new research in the field of
interpersonal neurobiology, he explores exciting ways in which understanding
how the teenage brain functions can help parents make what is in fact an
incredibly positive period of growth, change, and experimentation in their
children’s lives less lonely and distressing on both sides of the generational
divide. |
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A Child’s Brain: Understanding How
the Brain Works, Develops, and Changes During Critical Stages of Childhood. Robert Sylwester, $25.95
A Child's Brain is a guide
understanding children’s cognitive development, and how to nurture children to
their full potential. The book examines the neurobiology of childhood,
explaining the body and brain systems that develop during pregnancy, infancy,
and childhood. It explores factors that can enhance or delay development, such
as nutrition, family life, relationships, illness, intelligence, technology,
creativity, and the arts. The book also provides practical suggestions to help
adults promote healthy development and successful learning in the children they
encounter at home, at school, and everywhere else. A Child's Brain helps
parents and educators understand the biological, emotional, and neurological
changes that occur during childhood so they can support children’s learning,
socialization, and growth. |
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Childhood Under Siege: How Big
Business Targets Children. Joel Bakan, $24.00 
Childhood Under Siege reveals big
business's discovery of a new resource to be mined for profit — our children. It’s a winner-takes-all battle for children’s hearts,
minds and bodies as corporations pump billions into rendering parents and
governments powerless to protect children from their calculated commercial
assault and its disturbing toll on their health and well-being. Childhood Under Siege is a shocking venture behind the
scenes of the widespread manipulation of children by profit-seeking
corporations — and of society’s failure to protect them. |
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Confident Parents, Confident Kids: Raising Emotional
Intelligence in Ourselves and Our Kids — From Toddlers to Teenagers. Jennifer
Miller, $28.99
Confident Parents, Confident Kids lays out an
approach for helping parents — and the kids they love — hone their emotional
intelligence so that they can make wise choices, connect and communicate well
with others (even when patience is thin), and become socially conscious and
confident human beings.
How do we raise a happy, confident kid? And how can we be
confident that our parenting is preparing our child for success? Our confidence
develops from understanding and having a mastery over our emotions (aka emotional
intelligence) — and helping our children do the same. Like learning to play a
musical instrument, we can fine-tune our ability to skillfully react to those
crazy, wonderful, big feelings that naturally arise from our child’s constant
growth and changes, moving from chaos to harmony. We want our children to trust
that they can conquer any challenge with hard work and persistence; that they
can love boundlessly; that they will find their unique sense of purpose; and
they will act wisely in a complex world. This book shows you how. |
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The Conscious Parent. Shefali Tsabary, $29.95
Turning the traditional notion of parenting on its head, Dr. Tsabary shifts the parent-child relationship away from the traditional parent-to-child “teaching” approach to a parent-with-child relationship that is mindful, conscious and mutually supportive. |
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Cribsheet: a Data-Driven Guide to Better, More Relaxed
Parenting, from Birth to Preschool. Emily Oster, $24.00
With Expecting Better, award-winning economist
Emily Oster spotted a need in the pregnancy market for advice that gave women
the information they needed to make the best decision for their own
pregnancies. By digging into the data, Oster found that much of the
conventional pregnancy wisdom was wrong. In Cribsheet, she now tackles
an even greater challenge: decision-making in the early years of parenting.
As any new parent knows, there is an abundance of
often-conflicting advice hurled at you from doctors, family, friends, and
strangers on the internet. From the earliest days, parents get the message that
they must make certain choices around feeding, sleep, and schedule or all will
be lost. There's a rule — or three — for everything. But the benefits of these
choices can be overstated, and the trade-offs can be profound. How do you make
your own best decision?
Armed with the data, Oster finds that the conventional
wisdom doesn't always hold up. She debunks myths around breastfeeding (not a
panacea), sleep training (not so bad!), potty training (wait until they're
ready or possibly bribe with M&Ms), language acquisition (early talkers
aren't necessarily geniuses), and many other topics. She also shows parents how
to think through freighted questions like if and how to go back to work, how to
think about toddler discipline, and how to have a relationship and parent at
the same time.
Economics is the science of decision-making, and Cribsheet is a thinking parent's guide to the chaos and frequent misinformation of the
early years. Emily Oster is a trained expert — and mom of two — who can empower us
to make better, less fraught decisions — and stay sane in the years before
preschool. |
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The Dad Factor: How Father-Baby Bonding Helps a Child
for Life. Richard Fletcher, $27.95
This stimulating book explores many fascinating new
understandings of the importance of a father in a child’s development. Richard
Fletcher, a pioneer researcher in the area of men’s health and family issues,
examines how a father’s close bond with his baby is vital for the development
of the child’s healthy brain structure and their cognitive and emotional
development.
The Dad Factor presents explanations of why a
father’s involvement with his child, right from birth, is vitally important to
the development of a child’s brain and emotional stability. Additionally,
Richard Fletcher addresses some contentious issues of child development,
examines the evolution of a father’s role, and uses feedback from men in his
parenting classes to answer many questions a new father-to-be might have. |
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Dad to Dad: Parenting Like a Pro. David Hill, $19.99
All fathers have heard it before — having
a baby really changes your life. Dr. David is a dad and a pediatrician. Inside
this practical book, dads and dads-to-be will find helpful information on
topics such as:
- Infant and child development
- Baby basics — crying, sleeping, pooping, and
eating
- Everyday illnesses and what to look for — fevers,
ear infections, colds, stomach bugs, and sore throats
- A guide to vaccines, when to get them, and just
what they're for
- Sound advice to cope with toddlerhood and beyond
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Daddy Doin' Work: Empowering Mothers to Evolve
Fatherhood. Doyin Richards, $20.99
Doyin Richards answers questions about fatherhood that
many women want to know in his no-nonsense, entertaining style. He urges new
mothers to enter the minds of new dads, thereby changing their perception of
what should be expected from a modern father. Richards exposes the manipulative
secrets of deadbeat dads, offers practical tips to help hardworking dads
understand that being a father encompasses more than paying the bills, and
provides methods to ensure that amazing dads stay on track, while inspiring
more fathers to be just like them. The conversation also asks mothers to take a
long look in the mirror to determine if they are part of the solution — or part
of the problem — in shaping the behavior of modern fathers. |
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The Danish Way of Parenting: What the Happiest People
in the World Know about Raising Confident, Capable Kids. Jessica Joelle
Alexander & Iben Dissing Sandahl, $22.00
What makes Denmark the happiest country in the world, and
how do Danish parents raise happy, confident, successful kids, year after year?
This upbeat and practical guide reveals the habits of the happiest families on
earth. With illuminating examples and simple yet powerful advice, the authors
present six essential principles, which spell out P-A-R-E-N-T:
- Play is essential for development and well-being.
- Authenticity fosters trust and an "inner compass."
- Reframing helps kids cope with setbacks and look on the bright
side.
- Empathy allows us to act with kindness towards others.
- No ultimatums means no power struggles, lines in the sand, or
resentment.
- Togetherness is a way to celebrate family time, on special
occasions and every day. The Danes call this hygge — and it's a simple yet
meaningful way to foster a close bond.
A revealing and fresh take on cross-cultural parenting
advice, The Danish Way of Parenting will help parents from all walks of
life raise the happiest, most well-adjusted kids in the world. |
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Decoding Boys: New Science Behind the Subtle Art of
Raising Sons. Cara Natterson, $36.00
What is my son doing behind his constantly closed door?
What’s with his curt responses, impulsiveness, newfound obsession with gaming,
and... that funky smell? As pediatrician and mother of two teenagers Cara
Natterson explains, puberty starts in boys long before any visible signs
appear, and that causes confusion about their changing temperaments for boys
and parents alike. Often, they also grow quieter as they grow taller, which
leads to less parent-child communication. But, as Natterson warns in Decoding
Boys, we respect their increasing “need” for privacy, monosyllabic
conversations, and alone time at their peril. Explaining how modern culture
mixes badly with male adolescent biology, Natterson offers science, strategies,
scripts, and tips for getting it right:
- recognizing the first signs of puberty and talking to our sons
about the wide range of “normal” through the whole developmental process
- why teenagers make irrational decisions even though they look
mature — and how to steer them toward better choices
- managing video game and screen time, including discussing the
unrealistic and dangerous nature of pornography
- why boys need emotional and physical contact with parents — and how
to give it in ways they’ll accept
- how to prepare boys to resist both old and new social
pressures — drugs, alcohol, vaping, and sexting
- teaching consent and sensitivity in the #MeToo culture
Decoding Boys is a powerful and validating
lifeline, a book that will help today’s parents keep their sons safe, healthy,
and resilient, as well as ensure they will become emotionally secure young men. |
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Do Parents Matter? Why Japanese Babies Sleep Soundly,
Mexican Siblings Don't Fight, and American Families Should Just Relax. Robert
LeVine & Sarah LeVine, $33.99
American parents drive themselves crazy trying to raise perfect
children. There is always another news article or scientific finding
proclaiming the importance of some factor or other, but it's easy to miss the
bigger picture: that parents can only affect their children so much.
In their decades-long study of global parenting styles,
Harvard anthropologists (and grandparents themselves) Robert LeVine and Sarah
LeVine reveal how culture may affect children more than parents do. Japanese
children co-sleep with their parents well into grade school, while women of the
Hausa tribe avoid verbal and eye contact with their infants, and yet, they are
as likely as any of us to raise happy, well-adjusted children. The LeVines'
fascinating global survey suggests we embrace our limitations as parents,
instead of exhausting ourselves by constantly trying to fix them. Do Parents
Matter? is likely the deepest and broadest survey of its kind, with
profound lessons for the way we think about our families. |
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The Earthbound Parent: How (and Why) to Raise Your
Little Angels Without Religion. Richard Conn, $19.95
Richard Conn demonstrates why all parents who value
science and reason can help stop the centuries-old practice of religious
indoctrination and offers advice on how to encourage children to discover the
world and their place in it for themselves. Only by teaching them that we are
in this world together and have a limited time to live can we truly enable them
to flourish and build a peaceful world — not just for their generation but for
the future. |
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The Enchanted Hour: the Miraculous Power of Reading
Aloud in the Age of Distraction. Meghan Cox Gurdon, $21.99
A miraculous alchemy occurs when one person reads to
another, transforming the simple stuff of a book, a voice, and a bit of time
into complex and powerful fuel for the heart, brain, and imagination. Grounded
in the latest neuroscience and behavioral research, and drawing widely from
literature, The Enchanted Hour explains the dazzling cognitive and
social-emotional benefits that await children, whatever their class,
nationality or family background. Reading aloud consoles, uplifts and
invigorates at every age, deepening the intellectual lives and emotional
well-being of teenagers and adults, too.
Meghan Cox Gurdon argues that this ancient practice is a
fast-working antidote to the fractured attention spans, atomized families and
unfulfilling ephemera of the tech era, helping to replenish what our devices
are leaching away. For everyone, reading aloud engages the mind in complex
narratives; for children, it’s an irreplaceable gift that builds vocabulary,
fosters imagination, and kindles a lifelong appreciation of language, stories
and pictures. |
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Experimenting with Babies: 50 Amazing
Science Projects You Can Perform on Your Kid. Shaun
Gallagher, $22.00
This fascinating and hands-on guide
shows you how to recreate landmark scientific studies on cognitive, motor,
language, and behavioral development — using your own bundle of joy as the
research subject. Simple, engaging, and fun for both baby and parents, each
project sheds light on how your child is acquiring new skills — everything from
recognizing faces, voices, and shapes to understanding new words, learning to
walk, and even distinguishing between right and wrong. Whether your little
research subject is a newborn, a few months old, or a toddler, these simple,
surprising projects will help you see the world through your baby’s eyes. |
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Fantastic First Time Father: 50 Things You Really Need
to Know. Tim Mungeam, $24.99
Crucial information and advice that will help you every
step of the way — from finding out you are going to be a parent, to your
responsibilities as a role model and a caregiver. |
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The Feminist's Guide to Raising a Little Princess: How
to Raise a Girl Who's Authentic, Joyful, and Fearless — Even If She Refuses to
Wear Anything But a Pink Tutu. Devorah Blachor, $22.00
“May God grant me the serenity to accept the color
pink, the courage to not let my house become a shrine to pink and princesses,
and the wisdom to know that pink is just a color, not a decision to never
attend college in the hopes of marrying wealthy.” - from The Feminist’s
Guide to Raising a Little Princess
Devorah Blachor, an ardent feminist, never expected to be
the parent of a little girl who was totally obsessed with the color pink,
princesses, and all things girly. When her three-year-old daughter fell down
the Disney Princess rabbit hole, she wasn’t sure how to reconcile the difference
between her parental expectations and the reality of her daughter’s passion.
In this book inspired by her viral New York Times
Motherlode piece “Turn Your Princess-Obsessed Toddler Into a Feminist in Eight
Easy Steps,” Blachor offers insight, advice, and plenty of humor and personal
anecdotes for other mothers who cringe each morning when their daughter refuses
to wear anything that isn’t pink. Her story of how she surrendered control and
opened up — to her Princess Toddler, to pink, and to life — is a universal tale of
modern parenting. She addresses important issues such as how to raise a
daughter in a society that pressures girls and women to bury their own needs,
conform to a beauty standard and sacrifice their own passions. Smart, funny,
and thought-provoking, this book shows feminist parents how to navigate their
daughters’ princess-obsessed years by taking a non-judgmental and positive
approach. |
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52 Questions for Families: Learn More about Your
Family — One Question At a Time. Travis Hellstrom, $7.50
Talking with your family is essential to creating lasting
bonds and great memories, and it has never been easier than with 52 Questions
for Families, which includes a year’s worth of fun, thought-provoking
conversation starters to help you learn more about your loved ones. Whether you
want to get to know your children better, find out what the past was like from
Grandma, or just want to spend a family night in, 52 Questions for Families can ask all of the questions for you. |
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52 Small Changes for the Family. Brett Blumenthal
& Danielle Shea Tan, $26.95
Small changes can make a big impact on creating a
healthy, happy family. In 52 Small Changes for the Family, bestselling
author Brett Blumenthal teams up with family health practitioner Danielle Shea
Tan to reveal how to build a foundation of health and happiness in the family.
The idea is simple: Make one small change a week for 52 weeks and at the end of
the year, you and your children will enjoy a happier, healthier lifestyle. 52
Small Changes for the Family will teach you and your family how to:
- Minimize clutter while organizing your space
- Foster a positive relationship with food
- Prioritize time in nature and take care of the
environment
- Have meaningful conversations
- Use technology socially and safely
- Teach and practice financial responsibility
- Volunteer and give back to the community
- Promote curiosity and encourage a love of learning
- Build resilience, confidence, and cultivate emotional
intelligence
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Forest School Adventure: Outdoor Skills and Play for
Children. Naomi Walmsley & Dan Westall, $31.95
From essential bushcraft basics and Stone Age skills to
joyful outdoor play, Forest School Adventure is packed with ideas to
bring your little ones closer to nature and all its magical offerings. Learn
how to:
- light a fire without matches
- build a shelter to sleep in
- cook on a fire
- hunt for bugs and much more
Young children will be immersed in imaginative, messy
play and crafts, while older ones can work on more complex activities like
stone tool making and sourcing water. Whether in an organized setting, a group
of friends or a family outing, the fun-filled games will build confidence,
bonding and result in happy children. Entertaining anecdotes from the authors'
own experience of surviving in the wild can be read aloud to children, bringing
to life the thrilling reality of sleeping in a cave or savoring your first-ever
foraged meal. |
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Foster Parenting Step-by-Step: How to Nurture the
Traumatized Child and Overcome Conflict. Kalyani
Gopal, $17.95
When you decide to foster, you are faced
with many difficult decisions, dilemmas and questions: How do you navigate the
daily struggles of foster parenting? How can you nurture bonds with your foster
child who is angry, sad, and defiant? How can you prepare to step back when
it's time to let go?
FOSTER PARENTING STEP-BY-STEP is a
concise how-to guide to fostering that summarizes what to expect as a foster
parent, and gives immediate practical solutions. It outlines the different
stages of a fostering relationship, raising common issues encountered at each
age and how to tackle them. It also explains the impact of trauma on your
child: how this can show itself through challenging behavior and how to respond
to it. This book will provide fostering parents with the skills and knowledge
to support the needs of the children in foster care. It will be invaluable not just
to foster parents but also to those professionals supporting foster placements. |
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The Gardener and the Carpenter: What the New Science
of Child Development Tells Us about the Relationship Between Parents and
Children. Alison Gopnik, $23.50
Caring deeply about our children is part of what makes us
human. Yet the thing we call "parenting" is a surprisingly new
invention. In the past thirty years, the concept of parenting and the
multibillion dollar industry surrounding it have transformed child care into
obsessive, controlling, and goal-oriented labor intended to create a particular
kind of child and therefore a particular kind of adult. In The Gardener and
the Carpenter, the pioneering developmental psychologist and philosopher
Alison Gopnik argues that the familiar 21st-century picture of parents and
children is profoundly wrong — it's not just based on bad science, it's bad for
kids and parents, too.
Drawing on the study of human evolution and her own
cutting-edge scientific research into how children learn, Gopnik shows that
although caring for children is profoundly important, it is not a matter of
shaping them to turn out a particular way. Children are designed to be messy
and unpredictable, playful and imaginative, and to be very different both from
their parents and from each other. The variability and flexibility of childhood
lets them innovate, create, and survive in an unpredictable world.
“Parenting" won't make children learn — but caring parents let children
learn by creating a secure, loving environment. |
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Gender Born, Gender Made:
Raising Healthy Gender-Nonconforming Children. Diane
Ehrensaft, $25.95
GENDER BORN, GENDER MADE is a
comprehensive guidebook for the parents and therapists of children who do not
identify with or behave according to their biological gender. Drawing on the
case histories of several children, each "gender creative" in his or
her own way, Dr. Diane Ehrensaft offers concrete strategies for understanding
and supporting children who experience confusion about their gender identities.
She also discusses the latest therapeutic advancements available to
gender-variant children.
Traditionally, psychologists have sought
to "cure" gender variance by pressuring children to conform to
typical gender behavior. From her perspective as both clinician and parent of a
gender creative child, Dr. Ehrensaft advocates a new approach, encouraging
caregivers to support gender-variant children as they explore their gender
identities. Rather than offering a "cure" for gender variance, GENDER
BORN, GENDER MADE facilitates improved understanding and communication about
gender identity. |
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The Gender Creative Child: Pathways for Nurturing and
Supporting Children Who Love Outside Gender Boxes. Diane Ehrensaft, $23.95
In her groundbreaking first book, Gender Born, Gender
Made, Dr. Diane Ehrensaft coined the term gender creative to describe
children whose unique gender expression or sense of identity is not defined by
a checkbox on their birth certificate. Now, with The Gender Creative Child,
she returns to guide parents and professionals through the rapidly changing
cultural, medical, and legal landscape of gender and identity.
In this up-to-date, comprehensive resource, Dr. Ehrensaft
explains the interconnected effects of biology, nurture, and culture to explore
why gender can be fluid, rather than binary. As an advocate for the gender
affirmative model and with the expertise she has gained over three decades of
pioneering work with children and families, she encourages caregivers to listen
to each child, learn their particular needs, and support their quest for a true
gender self. The Gender Creative Child unlocks the door to a
gender-expansive world, revealing pathways for positive change in our schools,
our communities, and the world. |
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Gentle Discipline: Using Emotional Connection — Not Punishment — to Raise Confident, Capable Kids. Sarah
Ockwell-Smith, $22.00
Discipline is an essential part of raising happy and
successful kids, but as more and more parents are discovering, conventional
approaches often don’t work, and can even lead to more frustration, resentment,
power struggles, and shame. Enter Sarah Ockwell-Smith, a popular parenting
expert who believes there’s a better way. Citing the latest research in child
development, psychology and neuroscience, Gentle Discipline debunks common
myths about punishments, rewards, the “naughty chair,” and more, and presents
practical, connection-based techniques that really work–and that bring parents
and kids closer together instead of driving then apart. Topics include:
- Setting — and enforcing — boundaries and limits with compassion and
respect
- Focusing on connection and positivity instead of negative
consequences
- Working with teachers and other caregivers
- Breaking the cycle of shaming and blaming
Filled with ideas to try today, Gentle Discipline helps parents of toddlers as well as school-age kids embrace a new, more
enlightened way to help kids listen, learn and grow. |
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The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let
Go So Their Children Can Succeed. Jessica Lahey, $19.99
Modern parenting is defined by an unprecedented level of
overprotectiveness — parents now rush to school to deliver forgotten assignments,
challenge teachers on report card disappointments, mastermind children's
friendships, and interfere on the playing field. As teacher, journalist, and
parent Jessica Lahey explains, even though these parents see themselves as being
highly responsive to their children's well-being, they aren't giving them the
chance to experience failure — or the opportunity to learn to solve their own
problems.
Everywhere she turned, Lahey saw an obvious and startling
fear of failure, in both her students and in her own children. This fear has
the potential to undermine children's autonomy, competence, motivation, and
their relationships with the adults in their lives. Providing a clear path
toward solutions, Lahey lays out a blueprint with targeted advice for handling
homework, report cards, social dynamics, and sports. Most important, she sets
forth a plan to help parents learn to step back and embrace their children's
setbacks along with their successes.
Empathetic and wise, The Gift of Failure is
essential reading for parents, educators, and psychologists nationwide who want
to help children thrive — and grow into independent, confident adults. |
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A Girl Named Lovely: One Child's Miraculous Survival
and My Journey to the Heart of Haiti. Catherine Porter, $24.99 
In January 2010, a devastating earthquake struck Haiti,
killing hundreds of thousands of people and paralyzing the country. Catherine
Porter, a newly minted international reporter, was on the ground in the
immediate aftermath. Moments after she arrived in Haiti, Catherine found her
first story. A ragtag group of volunteers told her about a “miracle child” — a
two-year-old girl who had survived six days under the rubble and emerged
virtually unscathed. Catherine found the girl the next day. Her family was a
mystery; her future uncertain. Her name was Lovely. She seemed a symbol of
Haiti — both hopeful and despairing.
When Catherine learned that Lovely had been reunited with
her family, she did what any journalist would do and followed the story. The
cardinal rule of journalism is to remain objective and not become personally
involved in the stories you report. But Catherine broke that rule on the last
day of her second trip to Haiti. That day, Catherine made the simple decision
to enroll Lovely in school, and to pay for it with money she and her readers
donated.
Over the next five years, Catherine would visit Lovely
and her family seventeen times, while also reporting on the country’s struggles
to harness the international rush of aid. Each trip, Catherine's relationship
with Lovely and her family became more involved and more complicated. Trying to
balance her instincts as a mother and a journalist, and increasingly conscious
of the costs involved, Catherine found herself struggling to align her
worldview with the realities of Haiti after the earthquake. Although her dual
roles as donor and journalist were constantly at odds, as one piled up
expectations and the other documented failures, a third role had emerged and
quietly become the most important: that of a friend.
A Girl Named Lovely is about the reverberations of
a single decision — in Lovely’s life and in Catherine’s. It recounts a
journalist’s voyage into the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, hit by
the greatest natural disaster in modern history, and the fraught, messy
realities of international aid. It is about hope, kindness, heartbreak, and the
modest but meaningful difference one person can make. |
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Good Dog, Happy Baby: Preparing Your Dog for the
Arrival of Your Child. Michael Wombacher, $28.50
For years dog trainer Michael Wombacher has worked with
expecting dog owners to prevent problems between dogs and children. He has also
unfortunately witnessed too many families forced to surrender their beloved
family companions because they failed to prepare the dog for the arrival of a
new family member. In Good Dog, Happy Baby, Wombacher lays out a twelve-step
process that will give families the skills they need to navigate this new era
of their lives. These skills include how to evaluate dogs, resolve common
behavior problems, and fully prepare dogs for a new baby. This easy-to-use
guide, filled with photos and simple instructions, makes a great gift for any
expecting family with a dog, whether the dog is perfectly trained or in serious
need of behavioral help. |
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Good Moms Have Scary Thoughts: a Healing Guide to the
Secret Fears of New Mothers. Karen Kleiman, illustrated by Molly McIntyre,
$24.99
Over 90 percent of new mothers will have scary, intrusive
thoughts about their baby and themselves. What if I drop him? What if I snap
and hurt my baby? Mothering is so hard — I don't know if I really want to do this
anymore. Gosh, I'm so terrible for thinking that! Yet for too many mothers,
those thoughts remain secret, hidden away in a place of shame that can quickly
grow into anxiety, postpartum depression, and even self-harm. But here's the
good news: you CAN feel better!
Author Karen Kleiman — coauthor of the seminal book This
Isn't What I Expected and founder of the acclaimed Postpartum Stress
Center — comes to the aid of new mothers everywhere with a groundbreaking new
source of hope, compassion, and expert help. Good Moms Have Scary Thoughts is packed with world-class guidance, simple exercises, and nearly 50
stigma-busting cartoons from the viral #speakthesecret campaign that help new
moms validate their feelings, share their fears, and start feeling better.
Lighthearted yet serious, warm yet not sugary, and perfectly portioned for busy
moms with full plates, Good Moms Have Scary Thoughts is the go-to
resource for moms, partners, and families everywhere who need help with this
difficult period. LGBTQQ-friendly. |
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Goodnight Bubbala: a Joyful Parody. Sharyl Haft,
illustrated by Jill Weber, $23.99 (ages 2-4)
In the small
blue room there was a bubbala, and a little shmatta,
and then — oy
vey! — came the whole mishpacha!
This zesty parody of one of America's favorite picture
books offers a very different bedtime routine: one that is full of family
exuberance and love. Instead of whispers of “hush,” this bedtime includes
dancing and kvelling, and of course, noshing — because this little bunny is a Jewish
bunny, and this joyous book celebrates the Jewish values of cherishing your
loved ones, expressing gratitude, and being generous.
Filled with Yiddish words, the book includes a phonetic
glossary and even an easy latke recipe by beloved cookbook author Ina Garten. |
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Grandparents as Parents: a Survival
Guide for Raising a Second Family. Sylvie de Toledo
& Deborah Edler Brown, $24.95
If you're among the millions of
grandparents raising grandchildren today, you need information, support, and
practical guidance you can count on to keep your family strong. This is the
book for you. Learn effective strategies to help you cope with the stresses of
parenting the second time around, care for vulnerable grandkids and set
boundaries with their often-troubled parents, and navigate the maze of
government aid, court proceedings, and special education. Wise, honest, moving
stories show how numerous other grandparents are surviving and thriving in
their new roles. Updated throughout, and reflecting current laws and policies
affecting families, the second edition features new discussions of kids'
technology use and other timely issues. |
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Growing Strong Girls: Practical Tools to Cultivate
Connection in the Preteen Years. Lindsay Sealey, $22.99
Girls today face an astounding degree of pressure to grow
up fast, to be “perfect” in every way, and to be all things to all people. They
yearn to connect, but sometimes this yearning turns into negative, even
destructive patterns such as passive aggressiveness, gossip, or excessive
stress and anxiety. It’s heart-breaking to watch even the most confident little
girls disconnect and lose their spark — and their way — when they hit the 9–14
years.
In Growing Strong Girls, educator and girl expert
and advocate Lindsay Sealey reveals the tremendous power of connection to
activate self-awareness, self-acceptance, and healthy social and emotional
development. This wide-ranging and positive book is chock-full of ideas, tips,
activities, stories and specific ways to connect with and equip girls to know
and trust themselves, to create vibrant friendships and communities, and to
step into their tween and teen years with resilience, bravery, confidence, and
inner strength. Growing Strong Girls offers hundreds of practical ways
to cultivate connection right now. Making a difference in the lives of girls is
easier than you might think and powerful beyond measure. |
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The Happiest Kids In the World: How Dutch Parents Help
Their Kids by Doing Less. Rina Mae Acosta & Michele Hutchinson, $23.95
Calling all stressed-out parents: Relax! Imagine a place
where young children play unsupervised, don’t do homework, have few scheduled
“activities”... and rank #1 worldwide in happiness and education. It’s not a
fantasy — it’s the Netherlands!
Rina Mae Acosta and Michele Hutchison — an American and a
Brit, both married to Dutchmen and raising their kids in the Netherlands — report
back on what makes Dutch kids so happy and well adjusted. Is it that dads take
workdays off to help out? Chocolate sprinkles for breakfast? Bicycling
everywhere?
Whatever the secret, entire Dutch families reap the
benefits. As Acosta and Hutchison borrow ever-more wisdom from their Dutch
neighbors, this much becomes clear: Sometimes the best thing we can do as
parents is... less! |
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Happy Parents Happy Kids. Ann Douglas, $22.99 
Happy Parents Happy Kids is the ultimate no-guilt
guide to boosting your enjoyment of parenting while at the same time maximizing
the health and happiness of your entire family. You can find ways to take care
of yourself while you’re busy raising a family—just as you can choose to use
parenting strategies that work for you and your kids. This practical and
encouraging book will help you:
- Discover what less-stressed-out parents know about minimizing the
fallout from work-life imbalance (to say nothing of all the other things our
generation of parents can’t help but feel anxious about)
- Tackle the challenges of distracted parenting(in a way that helps
kids to develop healthy relationships with technology)
- Balance your hopes and dreams for your children with the demands
of the rest of your life
- Manage screen time for your whole family with simple and
effective strategies
- Learn mindfulness strategies that can make parenting easier and
can be effortlessly worked into your daily life
- Live healthier (including a crash course on the science of habit
change)
- Become a calmer and more confident parent so that you can stop
feeling bad and raise astonishingly great kids
The takeaway message is clear, powerful, and potentially
life-changing. You can lose the guilt, embrace the joy, and thrive alongside
your kids. |
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How To Be a Happier Parent: Raising a Family, Having a
Life, and Loving (Almost) Every Minute. KJ Dell' Antonia, $36.00
In all the writing and reporting KJ Dell'Antonia has done
on families over the years, one topic keeps coming up again and again: parents
crave a greater sense of happiness in their daily lives. In this optimistic,
solution-packed book, KJ asks: How can we change our family life so that it is
full of the joy we'd always hoped for? Drawing from the latest research and
interviews with families, KJ discovers that it's possible to do more by doing
less, and make our family life a refuge and pleasure, rather than another
stress point in a hectic day. She focuses on nine common problem spots that
cause parents the most grief, explores why they are hard, and offers small,
doable, sometimes surprising steps you can take to make them better.
Whether
it's getting everyone out the door on time in the morning or making sure chores
and homework get done without another battle, How to Be a Happier Parent shows that having a family isn't just about raising great kids and churning
them out at destination: success. It's about experiencing joy — real joy, the
kind you look back on, look forward to, and live for — along the way. |
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How to Build Your Baby's Brain: a Parent's Guide to
Using New Gene Science to Raise a Smart, Secure, and Successful Child. Gail
Gross, $36.99
The truth is, nature and nurture are in a delicate
dance — if one goes too fast, the other one falls. Science tells us that early childhood
experiences have the capacity to structure and alter the brain. That means you
didn’t just supply your child’s DNA — you’re still shaping it. And it’s only by
wielding this power that your child will activate their full potential. You are
truly a gene therapist; manipulating and guiding your child’s genetic makeup
based on the experiences you create for them.
Great parenting comes down to one mission: to be prepped
and present for the windows of your child’s development so that you can take
full advantage of them and help your child become a smart, successful,
self-sufficient adult. It doesn’t require formal training or a fancy degree — all
it takes is getting involved. Once parents learn how to flip the right gene
“switches,” they can expand the limits of their child’s potential and lay the
emotional and intellectual groundwork that allows them to seize opportunities
for success fearlessly, naturally, and enthusiastically.
Dr. Gross combines an understanding of childhood
development with practical and realistic tools to teach parents how to best
take advantage of their child’s developmental windows. How to Build Your
Baby's Brain translates the results from scientific studies about expanding
consciousness and performance into day-to-day interaction between parents and
children. |
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How to Raise Kind Kids: and Get Respect, Gratitude,
and a Happier Family In the Bargain. Thomas Lickona, $23.00
Can you teach a child to be kind?
This vital question is taking on a new urgency as our culture
grows ever more abrasive and divided.
We all want our kids to be kind. But that is not the same
as knowing what to do when you catch your son being unkind. A world-renowned
developmental psychologist, Dr. Thomas Lickona has led the character education
movement in schools for forty years. Now he shares with parents the vital tools
they need to bring peace and foster cooperation at home. Kindness doesn’t stand
on its own. It needs a supporting cast of other essential virtues — like courage,
self-control, respect, and gratitude.
With concrete examples drawn from the many families Dr.
Lickona has worked with over the years and clear tips you can act on tonight, How to Raise Kind Kids will help you give and get respect, hold family meetings
to tackle persistent problems, discipline in a way that builds character, and
improve the dynamic of your relationship with your children while putting them
on the path to a happier and more fulfilling life. |
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How to Raise a Reader. Pamela Paul & Maria
Russo, $29.95
Do you remember your first visit to where the wild things
are? How about curling up for hours on end to discover the secret of the
Sorcerer’s Stone? Combining clear, practical advice with inspiration, wisdom,
tips, and curated reading lists, How to Raise a Reader shows you how to
instill the joy and time-stopping pleasure of reading.
Divided into four sections, from baby through teen, and
each illustrated by a different artist, this book offers something useful on
every page, whether it’s how to develop rituals around reading or build a
family library, or ways to engage a reluctant reader. A fifth section, “More
Books to Love: By Theme and Reading Level,” is chockfull of expert
recommendations. Throughout, the authors debunk common myths, assuage parental
fears, and deliver invaluable lessons in a positive and easy-to-act-on way. |
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How to Raise a Wild Child: the Art and Science of
Falling in Love with Nature. Scott Sampson, $22.95
American children spend four to seven minutes a day
playing outdoors — 90 percent less time than their parents did. Yet recent
research indicates that experiences in nature are essential for healthy growth.
Regular exposure to nature can help relieve stress, depression, and attention
deficits. It can reduce bullying, combat illness, and boost academic scores.
Most critical of all, abundant time in nature seems to yield long-term benefits
in kids’ cognitive, emotional, and social development. Yet teachers,
parents, and other caregivers lack a basic understanding of how to engender a
meaningful, lasting connection between children and the natural world.
How to Raise a Wild Child offers a timely and
engaging antidote, showing how kids’ connection to nature changes as they mature. Distilling
the latest research in multiple disciplines, Sampson reveals how adults can
help kids fall in love with nature — enlisting technology as an ally, taking
advantage of urban nature, and instilling a sense of place along the way. |
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I Wished for You: a Keepsake Adoption Journal. Carrie
Kipp Howard, $23.99
Cherish every step. Remember every chapter. Love every
moment. Celebrate your unique adoption story with this gently guided journal
designed with adoptive parents in mind.
- Open-ended and playful prompts — perfect for any age or
experience
- Lots of spots for notes, photographs, announcements,
and other mementos
- Beautiful, simple design to make your own
Every child, every family’s story is unique... and now
every story can be told. This beautifully designed keepsake journal captures
all of the emotions, history, hopes, dreams, and surprises that each adoption
journey entails through guided prompts that encourage parents to enjoy and
reflect on their own experience. Created specifically for adoptive parents, I
Wished for You celebrates each unique adoption story, where every milestone
is remembered, every moment is cherished, and every child is wished for. |
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Impossible Parenting: Creating a New Culture of Mental
Health for Parents. Olivia Scobie, $22.99 
A roadmap for parents who want to feel less pressure and
more joy during the intense early years of childrearing.
Why is it that research suggests people who don’t have
kids are happier than people who do? Olivia Scobie provides practical solutions
for parents who find themselves pushing beyond their capacity to meet
impossible standards, and challenges parents to shift their thinking from child
centred to family centred. By naming today’s unrealistic parenting expectations
as impossible from the get-go, Impossible Parenting creates the space to
acknowledge harmful expectations for new parents and begins a conversation that
focuses on healing and doing the best one can with the resources available. |
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The Incredible Teenage Brain: Everything You Need to
Know to Unlock Your Teen's Potential. Bettina Hohnen, Jane Gilmour &
Tara Murphy, $27.95
Written by a team of leading clinical psychologists, this
straightforward book walks the reader through the workings of the teenage
brain. Pulling together the latest research, from brain imaging techniques to
studies of teen behaviour, the authors provide an invaluable framework for
parents, teachers, and professionals to understand how teenagers learn.
Uniquely, the authors provide a manual with clear strategies
for what to do to support teens based on findings from neuroscience and
psychology. They show that good relationships and communication are the
bedrocks of supporting teens to develop, learn, and grow. They also highlight
the importance of individual and learning differences, mental health, and a
growth mindset, as part of the over-arching theoretical framework of the book.
A must read for anyone supporting young people. |
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The Informed Parent: a Science-Based Resource for Your
Child's First Four Years. Tara Haelle & Emily Willingham, $27.00
The latest scientific research on pregnancy, home birth, toilet
training, breastfeeding, sleep training, vaccines, and other key topics — to help
parents make their own best-informed decisions.
In the era of questionable Internet “facts” and parental
over-sharing, it’s more important than ever to find credible information on
everything from prenatal vitamins to screen time. Credible scientific studies
are out there — and they’re “bottom-lined” in this book. The ultimate resource
for today’s science-minded generation, The Informed Parent was written
for readers who prefer facts to “friendly advice,” and who prefer to make up
their own minds, based on the latest findings as well as their own personal
preferences. Science writers and parents themselves, authors Tara Haelle and
Emily Willingham have sifted through thousands of research studies on dozens of
essential topics, and distill them in this essential and engaging book. |
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Kid Food: the Challenges of Feeding Children In a
Highly Processed World. Bettina Elias Siegel, $27.50
In Kid Food, nationally recognized food writer
Bettina Elias Siegel (New York Times, The Lunch Tray) explores the cultural
delusions and industry deceptions that have made it all but impossible to raise
a healthy eater in America. Combining first-person reporting with the hard-won
understanding of a food advocate and parent, it presents a startling
portrayal of the current food landscape for children — and the role of parents
in navigating it. Siegel also lifts the curtain on shadowy food industry
front-groups, including clever marketing techniques that intentionally confuse
parents about a product's nutritional value. (Did you know that "made with
real fruit" may mean a product is less healthy?) What emerges is the
industry's divide-and-conquer strategy, one that stokes kids' desire
for junk food while breaking down parents' ability to act as responsible
gatekeepers.
For anyone who frets over what their child is eating, Kid
Food offers both essential reading and a deeper understanding of the
factors at play in their child's food environment. Written in the same engaging
and relatable voice that has made The Lunch Tray a trusted resource for parents
for almost a decade, Kid Food offers a well of compassion — and
expertise — for those fighting the good fight at home. |
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The Kids Are in Bed: Finding Time for Yourself in the
Chaos of Parenting. Rachel Bertsche, $22.00
Picture it — it's 8:30 p.m. You close the door to your
child's room just as you hear your partner closing the dishwasher, and now it's
time for an hour or two of glorious freedom. What do you do? Read the book
you've been waiting to crack open all day? Chat on the phone with a friend,
glass of wine in hand, or go out with pals and share a whole bottle? Or, like
many modern parents, do you get caught up in chores, busywork, and social media
black holes?
In an original survey conducted for this book, 71 percent
of parents said their free time didn't feel free at all, because they were
still thinking about all the things they should be doing for their kids, their
jobs, and their households. Rachel Bertsche found herself in exactly that bind.
After dozens of interviews with scientists and parenting experts, input from
moms and dads across the country, and her own experiments with her personal
time, Rachel figured out how to transform her patterns and reconnect to her
pre-kids life. In The Kids Are in Bed, other parents can learn to do the
same, and learn to truly enjoy the time after lights-out. |
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Last Child
in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder. Richard Louv, $25.95
As children’s connections to nature
diminish and the social, psychological, and spiritual implications
become apparent, new research shows that nature can offer
powerful therapy for such maladies as depression, obesity,
and attention deficit disorder. In Last Child in the Woods,
Louv talks with parents, children, teachers, scientists, religious
leaders, child-development researchers, and environmentalists
who recognize the threat and offer solutions. Louv shows us
an alternative future, one in which parents help their kids
experience the natural world more deeply — and find the joy
of family connectedness in the process. |
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Let Them Eat Dirt: Saving Your Child from an
Oversanitized World. B. Brett Finaly & Marie-Claire Arrieta, $19.95 
Babies and young kids are being raised in surroundings
that are increasingly cleaner, more hyper hygienic, and more disinfected than
ever before. As a result, the beneficial bacteria in their bodies is being
altered, promoting conditions and diseases such as obesity, diabetes, asthma,
allergies, and autism. As Let Them Eat Dirt shows, there is much that
parents can do about this, including breastfeeding if possible, getting a dog,
and avoiding antibiotics unless necessary — and yes, it is OK to let kids get a
bit dirty. |
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Let Your Kids Go Wild Outside: Creative Ways to Help
Children Discover Nature and Enjoy the Great Outdoors. Fiona Bird, $27.95
In an era when the iPad is often more appealing than the
park, it can be difficult to encourage kids to get off the couch and go
outside. In this inspirational book, with ideas for children of all ages,
foraging expert Fiona Bird shows the value of playing outside and discovering
nature for children and families alike.
The outside adventure begins In the Woods, where children
are encouraged to make a nature mobile, decorate pooh sticks, and make a wild
kite. In Meadows and Hedgerows, ideas include designing a wild garland and
making potpourri. Onward to Seashores, Rivers, and Ponds, where children can
have fun with seaweed, from building a seawood oven to making seaweed bath
parcels — and they can hone their survival skills by learning to make a beach net
and collecting shellfish.
For those who don’t want to move far from home, there’s
plenty to do in the Backyard Station, such as making a sundial, building a
wormery, and attracting birds with a home-made bird table. Finally, in My Wild
Kitchen, develop your child’s hunting and gathering skills with seasonal
recipes made from natural ingredients, such as seaweed popcorn, bramble and
poppyseed muffins, and snow-ice-cream. |
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Let's Get Ready for Reading: a Guide to Help Kids
Become Readers. Toronto Public Library, $9.95 
From the earliest age, children respond to stimuli that
prepare them to enjoy books and reading. This guide offers a multitude of
suggestions for parents and caregivers to foster a love of reading from the
time a baby is born.
Whether it’s listening to the rhythmic cadence of chants
and nursery rhymes, looking at brightly colored pictures, or listening to
stories, children learn to associate reading with the warm and happy experience
of spending time with a parent, grandparent, or caregiver. Filled with rhymes,
songs, and games, Let’s Get Ready for Reading provides tons of suggestions
for engaging kids, from using different voices for the characters in a book to
helping them recognize shapes in preparation for learning the alphabet. A look
at developmental milestones helps parents adapt strategies to the age of the
child, while dozens of recommended books take out the guesswork during the next
visit to the library or bookstore. |
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Listening to the Beat of Our Drum: Indigenous
Parenting in Contemporary Society. Edited by Carries Bourassa, Elder Betty
McKenna & Darlene Juschka, $29.95
Listening to the Beat of Our Drum: Indigenous Parenting
in a Contemporary Society is a collection of stories, inspired by a wealth of
experiences across space and time from a kokum, an auntie, two-spirit parents,
a Metis mother, a Tlinglit/Anishnabe Métis mother and an allied feminist
mother. This book is born out of the need to share experiences and story.
Storytelling is one of the most powerful forms of passing on teachings and
values that we have in our Indigenous communities. This book weaves personal
stories to explore mothering practices and examines historical contexts and
underpinnings that contribute to contemporary parenting practices. We share our
stories with the hope that it will resonate with readers whether they are in
the classroom or in the community. Like our contributors, we are from all walks
of life, sharing diverse perspectives about mothering whether it be as a
mother, auntie, kokum or other adopted role. |
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Loving Hands. Tony Johnston, illustrated by Amy
June Bates, $21.99 (ages 4-6)
Hands wave hello, hands hold, hands heal. Hands say, I am
here for you always. In simple, stirring rhymes, author Tony Johnston pens a
timeless ode to parenthood. The small moments and quiet scenes that make up
childhood — learning to clap, planting a garden, waving good-bye on the first
day of school — fill the pages of this gentle tale, capturing the reassurance
and love that parents hand their children every day. Warm illustrations by Amy
June Bates show a young boy reaching for his mother’s hand as he grows older
and more independent... until, perhaps, he can be the one to offer love and
support with hands that say, I am here for you always. An eloquent look at the
passage of time and the power of connection and care, this book is a heartfelt
gift for loved ones at any and all milestones in life. |
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The M Word: Conversations about Motherhood. Edited
by Kerry Clare, $22.95 
In this original and sometimes provocative collection of
essays, Saleema Nawaz, Alison Pick, Nancy Jo Cullen, Carrie Snyder, and many
others explore the boundaries of contemporary motherhood. There are the women
who have had too many children or not enough. There are women for whom
motherhood is a fork in the road, encountered with contradictory emotions. And
there are those who have made the conscious choice not to have children and
then find themselves defined by that decision. |
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Many Ways to Say I LOVE YOU: Wisdom for Parents and
Children from Mister Rogers. Fred Rogers, $23.00
Fred Rogers has long been a wonderful resource for
parents, offering their children entertainment and education through his
enduring television show. Now his special brand of good cheer and wisdom are
brought together especially for parents in this newest book based on
never-before-published works.
Many Ways to Say I Love You is a treasury of
segments from speeches and observations from his years of working with parents
and children, as well as other materials from books, songs, TV commentary, and
more. Using stories from his own life, Mister Rogers discusses the importance
of children and the role of parents. |
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MINDSETS for Parents: Strategies to Encourage Growth
Mindsets in Kids. Mary Cay Ricci & Margaret Lee, $24.95
All parents want their children to be successful in
school, sports, and extracurricular activities. But it's not just about giving
your kids praise or setting them on the right direction. Research shows that
success is often dependent on mindset. Hard work, perseverance, and effort are
all hallmarks of a growth mindset. That's where Mindsets for Parents comes in. Designed to provide parents with a roadmap for developing a growth
mindset home environment, this book's conversational style and real-world
examples make the popular mindsets topic approachable and engaging. It includes
tools for informally assessing the mindsets of both parent and child,
easy-to-understand brain research, and suggested strategies and resources for
use with children of any age. This book gives parents and guardians powerful
knowledge and methods to help themselves and their children learn to embrace
life's challenges with a growth mindset and an eye toward increasing their
effort and success! |
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Motherhood So White: a Memoir of Race, Gender, and
Parenting in America. Nefertiti Austin, $36.99
The path to creating a family is almost never easy or
straightforward. As a single African American woman, Nefertiti Austin knew her
journey would be more challenging than most. Eager to finally join the
motherhood ranks, Austin felt discouraged by the roadblocks that seemed nearly
insurmountable as she fought to adopt her son from the foster care system.
Along the way, Austin realized that American society saw motherhood through a
primarily white lens, and that there would be no easy understanding or
acceptance of the kind of family she hoped to build.
Motherhood So White is the story of Nefertiti
Austin's fight to create the family she always knew she was meant to have and
the story of motherhood that all American families need now. In this
unflinching account of her parenting journey, Nefertiti examines the history of
adoption in the African American community, faces off against stereotypes of
single, Black motherhood, and confronts the reality of raising children of
color in racially charged, modern-day America.
Honest, vulnerable, and uplifting, Motherhood So White reveals what the author knew all along — that the only requirement for a
successful family is one raised with love. |
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The New Childhood: Raising Kids to Thrive in a
Connected World. Jordan Shapiro, $36.50
In The New Childhood, Jordan Shapiro provides a
hopeful counterpoint to the fearful hand-wringing that has come to define our
narrative around children and technology. Drawing on groundbreaking research in
economics, psychology, philosophy, and education, The New Childhood shows how technology is guiding humanity toward a bright future in which our
children will be able to create new, better models of global citizenship,
connection, and community.
Shapiro offers concrete, practical advice on how to
parent and educate children effectively in a connected world, and provides
tools and techniques for using technology to engage with kids and help them
learn and grow. He compares this moment in time to other great technological
revolutions in humanity's past and presents entertaining micro-histories of
cultural fixtures: the sandbox, finger painting, the family dinner, and more.
But most importantly, The New Childhood paints a timely, inspiring and
positive picture of today's children, recognizing that they are poised to
create a progressive, diverse, meaningful, and hyper-connected world that
today's adults can only barely imagine. |
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No-Drama Discipline: the Whole-Brain Way to Calm the
Chaos and Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind. Daniel Siegel & Tina
Payne Bryson, $23.00
The pioneering experts behind The Whole-Brain
Child — Tina Payne Bryson and Daniel J. Siegel, the author of Brainstorm — now
explore the ultimate child-raising challenge: discipline. Highlighting the
fascinating link between a child’s neurological development and the way a
parent reacts to misbehavior, No-Drama Discipline provides an
effective, compassionate road map for dealing with tantrums, tensions, and
tears — without causing a scene.
Defining the true meaning of the “d” word (to instruct, not to shout
or reprimand), the authors explain how to reach your child, redirect emotions,
and turn a meltdown into an opportunity for growth. By doing so, the cycle of
negative behavior (and punishment) is essentially brought to a halt, as problem
solving becomes a win/win situation. |
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No-Drama Discipline Workbook. Daniel Siegel &
Tina Payne Bryson, $35.95
Exercises, activities, and practical strategies to calm
the chaos and nurture developing minds. |
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The Overparenting Epidemic: Why Helicopter Parenting
is Bad for Your Kids and Dangerous for You Too! George Glass & David
tabatsky, $38.95
Overparenting — anxious, invasive, overly attentive, and
competitive parenting — may have finally backfired. As we witness the first
generation of overparented children becoming adults in their own right, many
studies show that when baby boomer parents intervene inappropriately — with too
much advice, excessive favors, and erasing obstacles that kids should negotiate
themselves — their “millennial” children end up ill-behaved, anxious,
narcissistic, entitled youths unable to cope with everyday life. The obsession
with providing everything a child could possibly need, from macrobiotic
cupcakes to 24/7 tutors, has created epidemic levels of depression and stress
in our country’s youth, but this can be avoided if parents would just take a
giant step back, check their ambitions at the door, and do what’s really best
for their kids.
Written by a noted psychiatrist and a parenting specialist, The Overparenting
Epidemic is a science-based yet humorous and practical book that
features an easy-to-read menu of pragmatic, reasonable advice for how to parent
children effectively and lovingly without overdoing it, especially in the
context of today’s demanding world. |
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Overwhelmed: Work, Love, and Play When No One Has the
Time. Brigid Schulte, $19.99
In OVERWHELMED, Schulte, a staff writer for The
Washington Post, asks: Are our brains, our partners, our culture and our bosses
making it impossible for us to experience anything but “contaminated time”?
How did researchers compile this statistic that said we
were rolling in leisure — over four hours a day? Did any of us feel that we
actually had downtime? Was there anything useful in their research — anything we
could do?
OVERWHELMED is a map of the stresses that have
ripped our leisure to shreds, and a look at how to put the pieces back
together. Schulte speaks to neuroscientists, sociologists and hundreds of
working parents to tease out the factors contributing to our collective sense
of being overwhelmed, seeking insights, answers and inspiration. She
investigates progressive offices that are trying to invent a new kind of
workplace; she travels across Europe to get a sense of how other countries
accommodate working parents; she finds younger couples who claim to have
figured out an ideal division of chores, childcare and meaningful paid work. OVERWHELMED is
the story of what she found out. |
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Parent Alert! How to Keep Your Kids Safe Online. Will
Geddes, Nadia Sawalha & Kaye Adams, $21.99
Kids spend hours online, exploring the best the internet
has to offer — but what about the risks? Who are they talking to on social
media? How do you educate them about their digital footprint and protect them
from trolls, bullies, frenemies, and stalkers? They may be tech-savvy, but they
are not worldly-wise, so can you set ground rules? If they see you as a digital
dinosaur, how do you encourage them to come to you if they are in trouble, and
what actions should you take to prevent, minimize, or resolve the damage?
Packed with real-life scenarios, practical advice, and
action plans in non-techspeak, Parent Alert! is your go-to guide for one of the
greatest dangers facing children today. Celebrity best friends and concerned
parents Nadia Sawalha and Kaye Adams ask the questions, and international
security expert Will Geddes provides the no-nonsense answers. Learn
best-practice cybersecurity on social media accounts; what signals might
indicate that your child is falling prey to online grooming, bullying, or
extortion; and how you can protect your kids from danger without being critical
of them or setting unrealistic restrictions. |
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Parent Hacks: 134 Genius Shortcuts for Life with Kids. Asha Dornfest, $19.95
A parent hack can be as simple as putting the ketchup
under the hot dog, minimizing the mess. Or strapping baby into a forward-facing
carrier when you need to trim his fingernails — it frees your hands while
controlling the squirming. Or stashing a wallet in a disposable diaper at the
beach — who would ever poke through what looks like a used Pamper?
On every page, discover easy-to-do, boldly illustrated,
unconventional solutions, arranged by category from Pregnancy & Postpartum
through Sleep, Eating, Bath Time, Travel, and more. |
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Parenting Right From the Start: Laying a Healthy
Foundation In the Baby and Toddler Years. Vanessa Lapointe, $19.99 
Recent scientific research indicates a strong sense of
connection between parents and children teaches children how to regulate
emotions, master social skills, and develop a healthy sense of
identity — essentially how to grow up. Unfortunately, many accepted parenting
practices disrupt connection rather than fostering it, which may lead to lasting
behavioral and emotional issues in children. According to Dr. Vanessa Lapointe,
author of the bestselling Discipline Without Damage, nurturing connection
should be the focus of all parenting efforts. But, along the way, many new
parents may find themselves working through unsettled issues from their own
childhoods. In Parenting Right From the Start, Dr. Lapointe shows parents how
mindful, conscious parenting can work to nourish both child and parent.
Through the twin lenses of attachment parenting and the
most up-to-date child development research, Dr. Lapointe walks parents through
the battlegrounds where problems are most likely to arise for
children—sleeping, feeding, toilet training, aggression, sibling rivalry — and
she provides appropriate solutions designed to promote connection and growth.
Rooted in compassion and understanding, Parenting Right From the Start shows parents how building a firm, caring presence in the early years is one
that a child can lean into for a lifetime. |
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Parenting Through the Storm: How to Handle the Highs,
the Lows, and Everything in Between. Ann Douglas, $22.99 
Ann Douglas knows what it’s like to parent a child
diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Ditto with depression, anorexia, Asperger
syndrome and ADHD. Each of her four children has struggled with one or more
conditions that fall under the “children’s mental health” umbrella.
From Canada’s bestselling and trusted parenting authority
comes this honest and authoritative compendium of advice for parents who are
living with children who have mental illnesses. It features interviews with
experts on children’s mental health as well as parents and young people who
have lived with (or who are living with) mental illness. Drawing on her own
experience and expertise, Ann shows how to cope with years of worry and
frustration about a child’s behaviour; how to effectively advocate for the
child and work through treatments; how to manage siblings’ concerns and
emotions; and, most importantly, how to thrive as a family. |
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Parenting with Presence: Practices for Raising
Conscious, Confident, Caring Kids. Susan Stiffelman, $25.50
Our children can be our greatest teachers. Parenting
expert Susan Stiffelman writes that the very behaviors that push our buttons —
refusing to cooperate or ignoring our requests — can help us build awareness
and shed old patterns, allowing us to raise our children with greater ease and
enjoyment. Filled with practical advice, powerful exercises, and fascinating
stories from her clinical work, Parenting with Presence teaches us how
to become the parents we most want to be while raising confident, caring
children. |
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Parenting Without God: How to Raise Moral, Ethical,
and Intelligent Children Free from Religious Dogma, 2nd Edition. Dan Arel,
$20.95
This practical guide — written with humility, compassion,
and understanding — helps parents teach their children about standing up to
religious proselytization and recognizing all forms of discrimination that
hamper human dignity and democracy. It’s for parents who wish for their
children to question everything and reach their own conclusions based on
verifiable evidence. Above all, Arel makes the argument that parents should
lead by example — both by speaking candidly about the importance of secularism
and by living an unabashedly secular life. |
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Parenting Your
Anxious Child with Mindfulness and Acceptance. Christopher
McCurry, $25.50
A powerful new approach to overcoming fear, panic and worry using acceptance and commitment therapy. |
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The Parent's Guide to Baby-Led Weaning: Skip the
Purees and Go Straight to Solids! Jennifer House, $19.95
Welcome to an exciting stage in your baby's life:
starting solid food! This will be a fun time for both you and your little one
as your baby explores new tastes and gains a place at the family table.
Jennifer offers you expert advice on everything you need to know to practice
baby-led weaning safely and confidently: why you might want to use this method,
when to start, what nutrients your baby needs, how to prevent choking, how to
deal with allergies and what to feed vegetarian babies. Plus, she answers a ton
of real-life questions parents often have when starting baby-led weaning and
provides 125 delicious family-friendly recipes. Discover all the wonderful
benefits of baby-led weaning — from good nutrition and a decreased risk of picky
eating as your baby gets older to faster dexterity development and a healthier
overall relationship with food. |
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A Parent’s
Guide to Raising Grieving Children: Rebuilding Your Family
after the Death of a Loved One. Phyllis Silverman &
Madelyn Kelly, $16.95
A comprehensive, thoughtful and commonsense book, A Parent’s Guide to Raising Grieving Children offers a wealth of solace, sound advice and hope. |
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Planting Seeds:
Practicing Mindfulness with Children. Thich Nhat Hanh
and the Plum Village Community, $43.95
A complete overview of all of Thich Nhat
Hanh’s practices for children, PLANTING SEEDS is full of hands-on activities to
help children and adults relieve stress, increase concentration and confidence,
deal with difficult emotions, and improve communication. It includes over 30
full-color illustrations and an audio CD with songs and easy-to-follow
practices. |
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Positive Discipline for Today's Busy & Overwhelmed
Parent: How to Balance Work, Parenting & Self for Lasting Well-Being. Jane
Nelsen, Kristina Bill & Joy Marchese, $23.00
With the increasing pressure to excel at parenting, work,
and personal relationships, it's easy to feel stressed and dissatisfied. This
targeted Positive Discipline guide gives parents the tools to parent
effectively without sacrificing their well-being or giving up on their life
goals. Instead of creating unachievable expectations, you will instead learn to
play to your strengths at work and at home. You’ll integrate your seemingly
disparate areas of life and use Positive Discipline to make the most out of
your time, energy and relationships. By helping you get to the bottom of the
underlying causes of misbehaviour, busy parents will also be able to avoid
pampering and keep permissive and punitive parenting at bay. Instead of feeling
fragmented and guilty, you’ll have the presence of mind to explore what works
best for you and your family.
Attitude is key — we’ll help you feel confident in your
parenting abilities and your professional choices, making your children more
likely to adopt an attitude of self-reliance and cooperation. Armed with
communication strategies and tips for self-reflection, moms (and dads!) won't
have to feel guilty about leaving their child with a sitter during the day, or
leaving work early to go to a soccer game. |
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The Power of Showing Up: How Parental Presence Shapes
Who Are Kids Become and How Their Brains Get Wired. Daniel Siegel &
Tina Payne Bryson, $36.00
One of the very best scientific predictors for how any
child turns out — in terms of happiness, academic success, leadership skills, and
meaningful relationships — is whether at least one adult in their life has
consistently shown up for them. In an age of scheduling demands and digital
distractions, showing up for your child might sound like a tall order. But as bestselling
authors Daniel Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson reassuringly explain, it doesn’t
take a lot of time, energy, or money. Instead, showing up means offering a
quality of presence. And it’s simple to provide once you understand the four
building blocks of a child’s healthy development. Every child needs to feel
what Siegel and Bryson call the Four S’s:
- Safe: We can’t always insulate a child from injury or
avoid doing something that leads to hurt feelings. But when we give a child a
sense of safe harbor, she will be able to take the needed risks for growth and
change.
- Seen: Truly seeing a child means we pay attention to
his emotions — both positive and negative — and strive to attune to what’s
happening in his mind beneath his behavior.
- Soothed: Soothing isn’t about providing a life of ease;
it’s about teaching your child how to cope when life gets hard, and showing him
that you’ll be there with him along the way. A soothed child knows that he’ll
never have to suffer alone.
- Secure: When a child knows she can count on you, time
and again, to show up — when you reliably provide safety, focus on seeing her,
and soothe her in times of need, she will trust in a feeling of secure
attachment. And thrive!
Based on the latest brain and attachment research, The
Power of Showing Up shares stories, scripts, simple strategies,
illustrations, and tips for honoring the Four S’s effectively in all kinds of
situations — when our kids are struggling or when they are enjoying success; when
we are consoling, disciplining, or arguing with them; and even when we are
apologizing for the times we don’t show up for them. Demonstrating that
mistakes and missteps are repairable and that it’s never too late to mend
broken trust, this book is a powerful guide to cultivating your child’s healthy
emotional landscape. |
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The Present Parent Handbook: 26 Simple Tools to
Discover That This Moment, This Action, This Thought, This Feeling Is Exactly
Why I Am Here. Timothy Duke, $20.99
If you can recognize that your child needs to be
witnessed, held, and loved by you, he or she will have a chance to thrive. With
all the distractions of work, technology, and life in general, The Present
Parent Handbook invites parents to be mentally and emotionally available to
their children. In the present, there is the opportunity to show up, pay
attention, and become the parent you want to be. With an easy-to-follow A-Z
format, every parent will be able to implement the 26+ simple tools to become a
more present parent for their children. |
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Raising Empowered Daughters: a Dad-to-Dad Guide. Mike
Adamick, $23.49
As a primary male role model in a girl's life, a father
influences his daughter in profound ways, from the way she defines her female
identity to what she expects from men. In Raising Empowered Daughters, Mike
Adamick offers a wise and witty handbook for dads, suggesting ways to raise
girls who won't settle for second-class-citizenship. Examining the
extraordinary array of sexisms — both subtle and not-so-subtle — girls encounter,
Adamick highlights not just the ways that girls and boys are treated differently
but how the roles of moms and dads are shaped by society, too.
Full of eye-opening anecdotes and dad-relatable humor,
this is a necessary guide for every father who wants to raise a confident
daughter. |
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Raising Money-Smart Kids: How to Teach Your Kids about
Money While Learning a Few Things Yourself. Robin Taub, $19.95 
Raising Money-Smart Kids: How to Teach Your Kids about
Money While Learning a Few Things Yourself shows you how to build money
lessons into your daily lives so that money is not a taboo topic at home. It
guides you through the five key areas of money management — Earn, Save, Spend,
Share and Invest — and provides hands-on examples and suggestions that are
specific and appropriate for each stage of your kids’ lives. The book also
explains why it’s important to teach your kids about money — for their sake and
for yours — and helps you get smarter with money so that you can lead by example. Raising Money-Smart Kids is a practical resource for parents with kids
of all ages, one you will refer to again and again. |
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Raising Multiracial Children: Tools for Nurturing
Identity In a Racialized World. Farzana Nayani, $21.95
The essential guide to parenting multiracial and
multiethnic children of all ages and learning to support and celebrate their
multiracial identities
In a world where people are more likely to proclaim
color-blindness than talk openly about race, how can we truly value, support,
and celebrate our kids' identities? How can we assess our own sense of Racial
Dialogue Readiness and develop a deeper understanding of the issues facing
multiracial children today? Raising Multiracial Children gives
caregivers the tools for exploring race with their children, offering practical
guidance on how to initiate conversations; consciously foster racial identity
development; discuss issues like microaggressions, intersectionality, and
privilege; and intentionally cultivate a sense of belonging. It provides an
overview of key issues and current topics relevant to raising multiracial
children and offers strategies and developmentally appropriate milestones from
infancy through adulthood. The book ends with resources and references for
further learning and exploration. |
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The Reflective Parent: How to Do Less and Relate More
with Your Kids. Regina Pally, $34.95
Figuring out how to raise happy, healthy, and successful
kids can be overwhelming. Parents find themselves wading through tons of
conflicting advice. Books that outline a “right way” of doing things can leave
even the most dedicated caregiver feeling discouraged and inadequate when real
life doesn’t measure up. An experienced psychiatrist and founder of the Center
for Reflective Communities, Regina Pally serves up something totally different
in her book. She argues that the key to successful parenting is learning to
slow down, reflect, and recognize that there is no one key to doing it right.
The Reflective Parent synthesizes the latest in
neuroscience research to show that our brain’s natural tendencies to empathize,
analyze, and connect with others are all we need to be good parents. Each
chapter weaves together discussions of specific reflective parenting principles
like “Tolerate Uncertainty” and “Repair Ruptures” with engaging explanations of
the science that backs them up. Brief “Take Home Lessons” at the end of each
chapter and vivid examples of parents and children putting the principles into
action make this a highly readable, practical guide for anyone looking to build
loving, lasting relationships with their kids. |
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Reflective Parenting: a Guide to Understanding What's
Going On In Your Child's Mind. Alistair Cooper & Sheila Redfern, $41.90
Have you ever wondered what’s going on in your child’s
mind? This engaging book shows how reflective parenting can help you understand
your children, manage their behaviour and build your relationship and
connection with them. It is filled with practical advice showing how recent
developments in mentalization, attachment and neuroscience have transformed our
understanding of the parent-child relationship and can bring meaningful change
to your own family relationships.
Alistair Cooper and Sheila Redfern show you how to make a
positive impact on your relationship with your child, starting from the
development of the baby’s first relationship with you as parents, to how you
can be more reflective in relationships with toddlers, children and young
people. Using everyday examples, the authors provide you with practical
strategies to develop a more reflective style of parenting and how to use this
approach in everyday interactions to help your child achieve their full
potential in their development; cognitively, emotionally and behaviourally.
Reflective Parenting is an informative and
enriching read for parents, written to help parents form a better relationship
with their children. It is also an essential resource for clinicians working
with children, young people and families to support them in managing the
dynamics of the child-parent relationship. This is a book that every parent needs
to read. |
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Retro Toddler: More Than 100 Old-School Activities to
Boost Development. Anne Zachry, $22.95
You don't need to buy high-tech digital devices, apps, or
expensive toys to boost your toddler's brain development! Research shows that
the best way for toddlers to learn is through daily, active play — and Retro
Toddler includes more than 100 fun, age-appropriate, "old-school"
activities that promote the development of language, motor and social skills.
The book includes detailed instructions for developmentally stimulating toys
that parents and toddlers can make together out of everyday household items.
Parents will also learn
- What's happening inside the rapidly developing brain of a toddler
- How language, social, fine and gross motor skills develop during
the toddler years
- How different parenting styles can affect a child's development
- How to successfully praise a child to achieve a growth mindset
vs. a fixed mindset
- How to foster grit and self-control in toddlers
- The importance of play during the toddler years
- How excessive screen time is negatively impacting today's young
children
With more than 25 years of experience as a pediatric
occupational therapist and child development specialist, the author of Retro
Toddler will provide you with the research-based information you need to
help foster strong growth and development in your toddler — without breaking your
budget. |
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Scattered Seeds: In Search of Family and Identity in
the Sperm Donor Generation. Jacqueline Mroz, $22.49
As typical as donor-conceived children have become, their
experiences are still unusual in many ways. In Scattered Seeds,
journalist and writer Jacqueline Mroz looks at the growth of sperm donation and
assisted reproduction and how it affects the children who are born, the women
who buy and use the sperm to have kids, and the sperm donors who donate their
genetic material to help others procreate. With empathy and in-depth analysis, Scattered
Seeds explores the sociology, psychology, and anthropology surrounding
those connected with fertility procedures today and looks back at the history
that brought us to this point. |
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Scientific Parenting: What Science
Reveals about Parental Influence. Nicole
Letourneau, $24.99 
Combining the expertise of its author — a
celebrated expert in parent-infant mental health and mother of two — with the
latest findings in gene-by-environment interactions, epigenetics, behavioural
science, and attachment theory, SCIENTIFIC PARENTING describes how children's
genes determine their sensitivity to good or bad parenting, how environmental
cues can switch critical genes on or off, and how addictive tendencies and
mental health problems can become hardwired into the human brain. The book
traces conditions as diverse as heart disease, obesity, and depression to their
origins in early childhood. It brings readers to the frontier of developmental
research, unlocking the fascinating scientific discoveries currently hidden
away in academic tomes and scholarly journals. Above all, SCIENTIFIC
PARENTING explains why parenting really matters and how parents' smallest
actions can transform their children's lives. |
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Self Care for Moms: 150+ Real Ways to Care for
Yourself While Caring for Everyone Else. Sara Robinson, $21.99
As a mom, you care — a lot. Whether it be physical,
emotional, social, or practical, you’re there to attend to all of your family’s
needs. But with so much to take care of, it can be hard to find time to care of
yourself. With Self-Care for Moms, you’ll learn how easy it is to incorporate
self-care into your own routine in practical, yet meaningful, ways. In this
book, you’ll find 150 realistic self-care activities that you can try right
away. To help busy moms like you maximize any moment you can find for yourself,
each activity is designed to fit easily within a set short time frame. For
example:
- 5 minutes: Call a friend; Listen to a favorite song; Light a
candle
- 15 minutes: Soak your feet; Read a chapter in a book; Enjoy a
leisurely cup of tea
- 30 minutes: Give yourself a facial; Plan for a vacation; Go for a
walk
- 1 hour: Meet a friend for lunch; Go for a manicure; Attend a
workout class
You’ll also find ideas for activities that span larger
amounts of time for inspiration and motivation to take some much-needed and
well-earned extra time for yourself. There’s even a few aspirational
activities, such as trips or projects, that last a day — or more — with a realistic
plan for how to organize and coordinate your schedule to accommodate the
occasional — but very important — extended time to focus on yourself. Start taking
time for you — it’s easier than you think and besides, you deserve it! |
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The Self-Driven Child: the Science and Sense of Giving
Your Kids More Control Over Their Lives. William Stixrud & Ned Johnson,
$23.00
A few years ago, Bill Stixrud and Ned Johnson started
noticing the same problem from different angles: Even high-performing kids were
coming to them acutely stressed and lacking motivation. Many complained they
had no control over their lives. Some stumbled in high school or hit college
and unraveled. Bill is a clinical neuropsychologist who helps kids gripped by
anxiety or struggling to learn. Ned is a motivational coach who runs an elite
tutoring service. Together they discovered that the best antidote to stress is
to give kids more of a sense of control over their lives. But this doesn’t mean
giving up your authority as a parent. In this groundbreaking book they reveal
how you can actively help your child to sculpt a brain that is resilient, and
ready to take on new challenges.
The Self-Driven Child offers a combination of
cutting-edge brain science, the latest discoveries in behavioral therapy, and
case studies drawn from the thousands of kids and teens Bill and Ned have
helped over the years to teach you how to set your child on the real road to
success. As parents, we can only drive our kids so far. At some point, they
will have to take the wheel and map out their own path. But there is a lot you
can do before then to help them tackle the road ahead with resilience and
imagination. |
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SEX is a Funny Word: a Book about Bodies, Feelings,
and YOU. Cory Silverberg & Fiona Smyth. $23.95
A comic book for kids that includes children and families
of all makeups, orientations, and gender identities, Sex Is a Funny
Word is an essential resource about bodies, gender, and sexuality for
children ages 8 to 10 as well as their parents and caregivers. Topics covered
include:
- What is sex?
- Privacy, safety, and respect
- Boundaries regarding nudity, talking about sex, and touch
- Assigned sex, gender identity, and gender roles
- Names and functions of body parts
- Talking about the word “sexy”
- Protecting yourself against unwanted sexual touch and abuse
- Crushes, love, and sexy feelings
Much more than the "facts of life" or “the
birds and the bees," Sex Is a Funny Word opens up
conversations between young people and their caregivers in a way that allows
adults to convey their values and beliefs while providing information about
boundaries, safety, and joy. Sex Is a Funny Word is the first sex
education book for this age group that is inclusive of lesbian, gay, and
bisexual experience as well as gender creative and gender nonconforming
children. |
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Sharenthood: Why We Should Think Before We Talk About
Our Kids Online. Leah Plunkett, $35.95
Our children's first digital footprints are made before
they can walk — even before they are born — as parents use fertility apps to aid
conception, post ultrasound images, and share their baby's hospital mug shot.
Then, in rapid succession come terabytes of baby pictures stored in the cloud,
digital baby monitors with built-in artificial intelligence, and real-time
updates from daycare. When school starts, there are cafeteria cards that
catalog food purchases, bus passes that track when kids are on and off the bus,
electronic health records in the nurse's office, and a school surveillance
system that has eyes everywhere. Unwittingly, parents, teachers, and other
trusted adults are compiling digital dossiers for children that could be
available to everyone-friends, employers, law enforcement-forever. In this
incisive book, Leah Plunkett examines the implications of
"sharenthood" — adults' excessive digital sharing of children's data.
She outlines the mistakes adults make with kids' private information, the risks
that result, and the legal system that enables "sharenting."
Plunkett describes various modes of sharenting-including
"commercial sharenting," efforts by parents to use their families'
private experiences to make money — and unpacks the faulty assumptions made by
our legal system about children, parents, and privacy. She proposes a
"thought compass" to guide adults in their decision making about
children's digital data: play, forget, connect, and respect. Enshrining every
false step and bad choice, Plunkett argues, can rob children of their chance to
explore and learn lessons. The Internet needs to forget. We need to remember. |
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The Simple Guide to Sensitive Boys: How to Nurture
Children and Avoid Trauma. Betsy de Thierry, $21.95
Too often, adults think of sensitive boys as shy, anxious
and inhibited. They are measured against society's ideas about 'manliness'
— that all boys are sociable, resilient and have endless supplies of energy. This
highly readable guide is for any adult wanting to know how to understand and
celebrate sensitive boys. It describes how thinking about boys in such
old-fashioned ways can cause great harm, and make a difficult childhood all the
more painful. The book highlights the real strengths shared by many sensitive
boys
— of being compassionate, highly creative, thoughtful, fiercely
intelligent and witty. It also flips common negative clichés about sensitive
boys being shy, anxious and prone to bullying to ask instead: what we can do to
create a supportive environment in which they will flourish?
Full of simple yet sage advice, this book will help you
to encourage boys to embrace their individuality, find their own place in the
world, and to be the best they can be. |
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Sitting Still Like a Frog: Mindfulness Exercises for
Kids (and Their Parents). Eline Snel, $19.95
Simple mindfulness practices to help your child deal with
anxiety, improve concentration, and handle difficult emotions. The accompanying
CD has guided meditations to help children calm down, manage anger, fall asleep
easily, and generally become more patient and aware. |
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Sleep Wrecked Kids: Helping Parents Raise Happy,
Healthy Kids — One Sleep at a Time. Sharon Moore, $27.95
Kids often suffer unknowingly from the consequences of
sleep problems because their issue is frequently missed or dismissed, by both
health professionals and parents.
Sleep disorders are a major public health issue that can
kick start a lifetime pattern of health, behaviour, and learning problems. From
ages 4-10, at least 25 percent of kids have sleep problems. Sleep Wrecked Kids
guides parents towards good sleep as the norm, allowing themselves and their
children to grow and thrive. Speech pathologist and myofunctional practitioner
Sharon Moore teaches parents why ‘bad sleep’ is connected to a myriad of health
problems, what ‘good sleep’ actually means, how to identify red flags for sleep
problems, how to improve sleep quality by improving airway health, and so much
more! Parents are empowered to not only get more sleep themselves, but also to
help their children get the sleep they need — every night. |
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Sleepless Nights and Kisses for Breakfast: Reflections
on Fatherhood. Matteo Bussola, $24.00
Matteo Bussola is a designer and cartoonist who lives in
Verona, Italy with his wife Paola; their three young daughters, Virginia,
Ginevra, and Melania (ages eight, four, and two); and their two dogs. For two
years, he’s been writing posts on Facebook capturing the beauty of ordinary
moments with his family. Sleepless Nights and Kisses for Breakfast is
the memoir that grew out of these writings. Divided into winter, spring,
summer, and fall, the book follows the different seasons of parenthood and
life. At times moving, and at others humorous, these writings remind people to
savor the present and appreciate the simple things in life. |
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The Story Cure: an A-Z of Books to Keep Kids Happy,
Healthy and Wise. Ella Berthoud & Susan Elderkin, $31.50
A literary first aid kit of book recommendations for
children of all ages. From tantrums to tummy aches to teenage mood swings,
there are times when a book is the best medicine of all. The Story Cure is a manual for grown-ups who believe that the stories which shape children's
lives should not be left to chance.
In these pages bibliotherapists Ella and Susan recommend
the perfect children's book — from picture books to YA novels via the golden
world of chapter books — for every hiccup and heartache. Whether the young
child you know is being bullied, the toddler can't sleep, or the teenager has
fallen in love for the first time — or just doesn't know what to read next — the right story will help them feel themselves again. Packed full of helpful
lists of the best books to read when turning ten or going through a
spy/horse/superhero phase, you'll find old favourites such as The Borrowers and
The Secret Garden alongside modern classics by MT Anderson, Malorie Blackman
and Frank Cottrell Boyce. The Story Cure is the perfect companion for
initiating young readers into one of life's greatest pleasures. |
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Strange Situation: a Mother's Journey Into the Science
of Attachment. Bethany Saltman, $36.00
When professional researcher and writer Bethany Saltman
gave birth to her daughter, Azalea, she loved her deeply but felt as if
something was missing. Looking back at her lonely childhood, dangerous teenage
years, and love-addicted early adulthood, Saltman thought maybe she was broken.
Then she discovered the science of attachment, the field
of psychology that explores the question of why — from an evolutionary point of
view — love exists between parents and children. Saltman went on a ten-year
journey visiting labs, archives, and training sessions, while learning the
meaning of “delight” from Mary Ainsworth, one of psychology’s most important
but unsung researchers, who died in 1999.
Saltman went deep into the history and findings from
Ainsworth’s famous laboratory procedure, the Strange Situation, which, like an
X-ray, is still used today by scientists around the world to catch a glimpse of
the internal workings of attachment. In this simple twenty-minute procedure, a
baby and a caregiver enter an ordinary room with two chairs and some toys.
During a series of comings and goings, a trained observer studies the minutiae
of the pair’s back-and-forth with each other.
Through the science of attachment, what Saltman
discovered was a radical departure from everything she thought she knew — about
love and about her own family, her story, and herself. She was far from
broken — she saw that love is too powerful to ever break.
Strange Situation is a scientific, lyrical,
life-affirming exploration of love. Not only will readers be taken on an
emotional ride through one mother’s reckoning with her own past and her
family’s future, but they will also be given the tools with which to better
understand their own life histories and their relationships today. |
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The Strength Switch: How the New Science of
Strength-Based Parenting Can Help Your Child and Your Teen to Flourish. Lea
Waters, $36.00
This game-changing book shows us the extraordinary
results of focusing on our children’s strengths rather than always trying to
correct their weaknesses. Most parents struggle with this shift because they
suffer from a negativity bias, thanks to evolutionary development, giving them
“strengths-blindness.” By showing us how to throw the “strengths switch,” Lea
Waters demonstrates how we can not only help our children build resilience,
optimism, and achievement but we can also help inoculate them against today’s
pandemic of depression and anxiety.
As a strengths-based scientist for more than twenty
years, ten of them spent focusing on strengths-based parenting, Waters has seen
how this approach enhances self-esteem and energy in both children and
teenagers. Yet more on the plus side: parents find it a particularly exciting
and rewarding way to raise children. With many suggestions for specific ways to
interact with your kids, Waters demonstrates how to discover strengths and
talents in our children, how to use positive emotions as a resource, how to
build strong brains, and even how to deal with problem behaviors and talk about
difficult situations and emotions. As revolutionary yet simple as Mindset and Grit, The Strength Switch will show parents how a small shift
can yield enormous results. |
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10 Things Girls Need Most to Grow Up Strong and Free. Steve
Biddulph, $29.99
In answer to the crisis in girls’ mental health, Steve
Biddulph brings an interactive learning guide rich in content and interactive
elements to help parents be prepared and self-aware in providing for their
daughters. The best-selling author of Raising Girls, psychologist and parent
educator offers an interactive experience for parents to explore the
relationship with their girls from the cradle to the teenager.
It is a guided journey of exercises, conversations,
reflections and self-rating questionnaires that builds the inner capacities in
a parent, targeted at each stage of their daughters growing up. Every aspect — love and security in babyhood, mindfulness, setting boundaries, emotional
well-being and emotional literacy, education and learning in primary and
secondary school, friendship, puberty and adolescence, sexuality and
sexualization, choosing partners and negotiating equality and respect — in fact
everything a father or mother needs to think about to be prepared and
self-aware in providing for their growing girl. |
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There's No Such Thing as Bad Weather: a Scandinavian
Mom's Secrets for Raising Healthy, Resilient, and Confident Kids. Linda
Åkeson McGurk, $22.00
When Swedish-born Linda McGurk moved to small-town
Indiana with her American husband to start a family, she quickly realized that
her outdoorsy ways were not the norm. In Sweden children play outside all year
round, regardless of the weather, and letting young babies nap outside in
freezing temperatures is not only common — it is a practice recommended by
physicians. In the US, on the other hand, she found that the playgrounds, which
she had expected to find teeming with children, were mostly deserted. In
preschool, children were getting drilled to learn academic skills, while their
Scandinavian counterparts were climbing trees, catching frogs, and learning how
to compost. Worse, she realized that giving her daughters the same freedom to
play outside that she had enjoyed as a child in Sweden could quickly lead to a
visit by Child Protective Services.
The brewing culture clash finally came to a head when
McGurk was fined for letting her children play in a local creek, setting off an
online firestorm when she expressed her anger and confusion on her blog. The
rules and parenting philosophies of her native country and her adopted homeland
were worlds apart.
Struggling to fit in and to decide what was best for her
children, McGurk turned to her own childhood for answers. Could the
Scandinavian philosophy of “there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad
clothes” be the key to better lives for her American children? And how would
her children’s relationships with nature change by introducing them to
Scandinavian concepts like friluftsliv (“open-air living”) and hygge (the
coziness and the simple pleasures of home)? McGurk embarked on a six-month-long
journey to Sweden to find out. There’s No Such Thing as Bad Weather is a
fascinating personal narrative that highlights the importance of spending time
outdoors, and illustrates how the Scandinavian culture could hold the key to
raising healthier, resilient, and confident children in America. |
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Thicker Than Blood: Adoptive Parenting in the Modern
World. Marion Crook, $18.95
Thicker Than Blood is a comprehensive yet
down-to-earth look at adoptive parenting in the twenty-first century. Author
Marion Crook's family includes two adopted sons; in her experience, adoptive
parents need to acquire skills, knowledge, and a good sense of humour in order
to deal with the emotional upheavals of raising adopted children.
The book looks at all facets of adoption, including its
dark history over the past 100 years when it was seen as a lower-class option
for desperate parents, or when children were taken from single mothers against
their will. Today, adoption is much more open-minded ― LGBT adoptive
parents and adoptive single parents are now commonplace ― yet challenges
linger, from adoptive children suffering from PTSD to those dealing with issues
of anger and abandonment. Marion Crook gently takes adoptive parents through
the process of adoption from childhood to adulthood, helping to demystify the
experience with compassion and reassurance.
Meticulously researched but refreshingly free of academic
jargon, Thicker Than Blood will enlighten and empower adoptive
parents and those who work with adopted children alike. |
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Think Like a Baby: 33 Simple Research Experiments You
Can Do at Home to Better Understand Your Child's Developing Mind. Amber
Ankowski & Andy Ankowski, $19.95
Raising a baby is joyful, amazing... and ridiculously
difficult. But with some insight into what's actually going on inside your
little one's head, your job as a parent can become a little bit easier — and a
lot more fun. In Think Like a Baby, coauthors Amber and Andy Ankowski — The
Doctor and the Dad — show parents how to re-create classic child development
experiments using common household items.
These simple step-by-step experiments
apply from the third trimester through age seven and beyond and help parents
understand their children's physical, cognitive, language, and social
development. Amazed parents won't just read about how their kids are behaving,
changing, and thinking at various stages, they'll actually see it for
themselves while interacting and having fun with them at the same time. |
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This Is Ridiculous This Is Amazing: Parenthood in 71
Lists. Jason Good, $20.95
Blogging sensation and family man Jason Good delivers a
laugh-out-loud reminder that everything is easier and more fun when approached
with a sense of humor — especially parenting. Each list captures a perfect (or
perfectly terrible) aspect of parenthood while wholeheartedly embracing every
moment: "You Deserve a Break" offers ideas for downtime, such as
giving blood and untangling cords, while "Self-Help from a
Three-Year-Old" collects such wisdom as "If you fall down, stay down.
Someone will pick you up eventually." Sweet, sincere, and oh-so-true, this
is the ideal gift for parents who could use a laugh. And isn't that every single
one of them? |
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THREADS. Torill Kove, National Film Board of
Canada, $19.95 (all ages) 
Beautiful in its simplicity, Threads illustrates
the enduring bond that unites a mother and child over a lifetime of love,
learning, and letting go. A masterfully illustrated exploration of the beauty
and complexity of parental love. In Torill Kove's delicate and moving story, a
woman joins her peers to grasp for threads dangling from the sky, each
representing an unknown opportunity. Our protagonist snags a particularly
special looking thread and is whisked away on an adventure. She flies across
the city and the countryside and comes down gently to meet her fate. Holding
the other end of the thread is an infant girl. A mother-daughter connection is
born. As love and trust grow, the thread shared between mother and daughter is
pulled and stretched across new experiences, until finally, it must be broken
so that the daughter can go out on her own. However, both mother and daughter
keep a part of the thread that brought them together. The love in their hearts
will never truly let them be separated.
Adapted from the National Film Board animation of the
same name, Kove's beautiful and touching portrayal of the loving bond shared by
a mother and daughter was named one of the 10 best films at the 2017 Toronto
International Film Festival. |
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The Time Has Come: Why Men Must Join the Gender
Equality Revolution. Michael Kaufman, $22.95
From founding the White Ribbon Campaign, the world’s
largest organized effort of men working to end violence against women, in the
early 1990s, to his appointment as the only male member of the G7 Gender
Equality Advisory Council, Michael Kaufman has been a major figure in promoting
social justice and women’s rights for decades. Now, in The Time Has Come,
he issues a stirring call for men to mobilize in the movement for gender
equality.
Weaving together sociological data, personal experiences,
and insights gleaned from decades of work with governments and NGOs around the
globe, Kaufman explores topics ranging from domestic violence to parental
leave, grappling with the ways in which a culture of toxic masculinity hurts
women and men (and their children). Informative and provocative, The Time
Has Come demonstrates how real gender equality creates advancements in both
the workplace and the global economy, and urges men to become dedicated allies
in dismantling the patriarchy. |
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To Change a Mind: Parenting to Promote Maturity in
Teenagers. John McKinnon, $33.95
Using case studies gathered from his years helping
parents with troubled adolescents, the author explores the ways that adolescent
development can be derailed in today’s complex culture and how parents can
prevent this from happening in the first place. Dr. McKinnon writes about how
parents need to recognize their children as individuals, with their own
feelings and opinions, as they start to establish their separate identities as
young people and begin to negotiate their way through high school and beyond.
He also makes clear that parents must continue to establish limits.
Packed with examples and sensible and practical advice
for parents of pre-teens and teenagers, To Change a Mind is an essential
guidebook for parents seeking to make their lives — and the lives of their
children — richer and more fulfilling, as the family navigates together the
potentially treacherous seas of adolescence. |
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Under Pressure: Confronting the Epidemic of Stress and
Anxiety in Girls. Lisa Damour, $23.00
An urgently needed guide to the alarming increase in
anxiety and stress experienced by girls from elementary school through college,
from the New York Times bestselling author of Untangled
Though anxiety has risen among young people overall,
studies confirm that it has skyrocketed in girls. Research finds that the
number of girls who said that they often felt nervous, worried, or fearful
jumped 55 percent from 2009 to 2014, while the comparable number for adolescent
boys has remained unchanged. In the engaging, anecdotal style and reassuring
tone that won over thousands of readers of her first book, Damour starts by
addressing the facts about psychological pressure. She explains the surprising
and underappreciated value of stress and anxiety: that stress can helpfully
stretch us beyond our comfort zones, and anxiety can play a key role in keeping
girls safe. When we emphasize the benefits of stress and anxiety, we can help
our daughters take them in stride.
Damour then turns to the many facets of girls’ lives
where tension takes hold: their interactions at home, pressures at school,
social anxiety among other girls and among boys, and their lives online. As
readers move through the layers of girls’ lives, they’ll learn about the
critical steps that adults can take to shield their daughters from the toxic
pressures to which our culture — including we, as parents — subjects girls. |
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Vitamin N: 500 Ways to Enrich the Health &
Happiness of Your Family and Community. Richard Louv, $23.95
From Richard Louv, the bestselling author who defined the
term “nature-deficit disorder,” Vitamin N (for “nature”) is a complete
prescription for connecting with the power and joy of the natural world right
now, Vitamin N is a practical guidebook for the whole family, offering parents
eager to share nature with their kids tips, activities, and ideas for young and
old alike. |
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Waking
Up: a Parent's Guide to Mindful Awareness and Connection. Raelynn Maloney, $20.95
Practice the MindfulWay of aware parenting and strengthen your relationship with
your child. |
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Welcome to Your Child's Brain: How the Mind Grows from
Conception to College. Sandra Aamodt & Sam Wang, $24.00
How children think is one of the most enduring
mysteries-and difficulties-encountered by parents. In an effort to raise our
children smarter, happier, stronger, and better, parents will try almost
anything, from vitamins to toys to DVDs. But how can we tell marketing from
real science? And what really goes through your kid's growing mind-as an
infant, in school, and during adolescence?
Neuroscientists Sandra Aamodt and
Sam Wang explain the facets and functions of the developing brain, discussing
salient subjects such as sleep problems, language learning, gender differences,
and autism. They dispel common myths about important subjects such as the value
of educational videos for babies, the meaning of ADHD in the classroom, and the
best predictor of academic success (hint: It's not IQ ). Most of all, this book
helps you know when to worry, how to respond, and, most important, when to
relax. Welcome to Your Child's Brain upends myths and
misinformation with practical advice, surprising revelations, and real, reliable
science. It's essential reading for parents of children of any age, from infancy
well into their teens. |
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Welcoming a New Brother or Sister
through Adoption. Arleta James, $26.95
Adoption is a big step which changes the
whole dynamics of the family. It is crucial that parents understand the impact
it has when new sibling relationships are forged and an adoptee becomes a part
of the family. WELCOMING A NEW BROTHER OR SISTER THROUGH ADOPTION is a
comprehensive yet accessible guide that describes the adoption process and the
impact of adoption on every member of the family, including the adopted child.
It prepares families to have realistic expectations and equips them with
knowledge to deal with a host of situations that may arise, addressing
difficult questions head-on, and exploring solutions in detail. All this is
accompanied with real life stories and direct quotes from children, which make
it a realistic and insightful resource. This book is vital reading for adoptive
families and professionals who work with them including social workers,
counselors and psychologists. |
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Well Played: the Ultimate Guide to Awakening Your
Family's Playful Spirit. Meredith Sinclair, $24.99
In our age of digital addiction, many of us have lost our
ability to be spontaneous. More parents are complaining that they no longer
even remember how to play with their children, or their spouse, and even with
their own friends. In Well Played, Meredith Sinclair helps families
relearn what used to come naturally and shows how to find happiness through
play. For children, playing comes naturally, or at least it used to. But today
that kind of easy-going fun is harder to come by, for both kids and their
parents. With hectic lifestyles and constant technology overload,
families have simply forgotten how to play. The solution? Relearn how to
integrate fun and creative play into our day-to-day lives.
Packed with fun and engaging line drawings, entertaining DIY projects, and
hundreds of lists and tips on capturing the game-changing joy of goofing
off, Well Played is an indispensable guide for families to
incorporate quality fun and playtime into our daily lives. |
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What Kind of Parent Am I? Self-Surveys That Reveal the
Impact of Toxic Stress and More. Nicole Letourneau, $17.99
Toxic stress can occur in any home, rich or poor,
regardless of age, education, or walk of life. Research has shown that
adaptive, supportive parents are the best at insulating their children from all
but the biggest catastrophes. Exposure to “toxic stress” in childhood can cause
depression, alcoholism, obesity, violent behaviour, heart disease, and even cancer
in adulthood. Parents who are less sensitive or attentive or who regularly
misinterpret their children’s needs can let too much stress trickle through, or
even cause it in the first place, which can carry on to the next generation.
What Kind of Parent Am I? uses specially created
surveys to identify problem areas for parents. With recommended resources and
advice throughout, Dr. Letourneau informs and empowers parents to deal directly
with their unique risks and challenges, helping them become the best parents
they can be. |
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What
Makes a Baby? A Book for Every Kind of Family and Every Kind
of Kid. Cory Silverberg, illustrated by Fiona Smyth, $24.95 
This amazing, wonderful, delightful book
tells the story of where babies come from. While it doesn’t include any information
on sexual intercourse, donor insemination, fertility treatments, surrogacy or
adoption, it does give the facts of how babies are made in the most open,
accurate and inclusive manner imaginable. A book to be shared and cherished. |
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What's My Child Thinking? Practical Child Psychology
for Modern Parents. Tanith Carey, $21.99
Find out what your child really means when he says
"Look what I did", "But I'm not tired," or "You're
embarrassing me," and discover what's really going on when he can't
express himself at all.
Using more than 100 everyday scenarios, the book leads
you through each one step by step, explaining not only your child's behavior
and the psychology behind it but also your own feelings as a parent. It then
gives instant recommendations for what you could say and do in response to best
resolve the situation. Covering all your child's developmental milestones from
ages 2 to 7 years, What's My Child Thinking? covers important issues,
such as temper tantrums, friendships (real and imaginary), sibling rivalry,
aggressive behavior, and peer pressure. There's also a bank of practical
"survival guides" for critical times, such as traveling in the car,
eating out, and going online safely.
Rooted in evidence-based clinical psychology and
championing positive parenting, What's My Child Thinking? will help you
tune in to your child's innermost thoughts and be the parent you want to be. |
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When the World Feels Like a Scary Place: Essential
Conversations for Anxious Parents & Worried Kids. Abigail Gewitz,
$25.95
In a lifesaving guide for parents, Dr. Abigail
Gewirtz shows how to use the most basic tool at your disposal — conversation — to
give children real help in dealing with the worries, stress, and other negative
emotions caused by problems in the world, from active shooter drills; COVID-19;
and social justice to climate change and natural disasters.
It's not just how to talk to your kids, it's also what to
say: The heart of When the World Feels Like a Scary Place is a series of
conversation scripts — with actual dialogue, talking points, prompts, and
insightful asides — that are each age-appropriate and centered around different
issues. Along the way are tips about staying calm in an anxious world; the way
children react to stress, and how parents can read the signs; and how parents
can make sure that their own anxiety doesn't color the conversation. Talking
and listening are essential for nurturing resilient, confident, and
compassionate children. And conversation will help you manage your anxieties
too, offering a path of wholeness and security for everyone in the family. |
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Where's the Mother? Stories from a Transgender Dad. Trevor
MacDonald, $21.99
In a time when to most people “pregnancy” automatically
means “motherhood,” what is it like to get pregnant, give birth, and breastfeed
a child — all while being an out transgender man?
When Trevor MacDonald decided to start a family, he knew
that the world was going to have questions for him. Luckily for the reader,
Trevor responds with grace and humour. His stories convey the intimate and
sometimes surprising realities of the transgender parenting experience. This
memoir is a book about being a breastfeeding parent and a transgender man, and
the many beautiful, moving, and difficult ways these two identities collide. |
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White Parents, Black Children: Experiencing
Transracial Adoption. Darron Smith, Cardell Jacobson & Brenda Juárez,
$28.95
White Parents, Black Children looks at the difficult
issue of race in transracial adoptions — particularly the adoption by white
parents of children from different racial and ethnic groups. This book aims to
bring to light racial issues that are often difficult for families to talk
about, focusing on the racial socialization white parents provide for their
transracially adopted children about what it means to be black in contemporary
society. Blending the stories of adoptees and their parents with extensive
research, the authors discuss trends in transracial adoptions, and offer
suggestions to help adoptees develop a healthy sense of self. |
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Why Gender Matters: What Parents and Teachers Need to
Know About the Emerging Science of Sex Differences, 2nd Edition. Leonard
Sax, $22.99
Eleven years ago, Why Gender Matters broke ground
in illuminating the differences between boys and girls–how they perceive the
world differently, how they learn differently, how they process emotions and
take risks differently. Dr. Sax argued that in failing to recognize these
hardwired differences between boys and girls, we ended up reinforcing damaging
stereotypes, medicalizing normal behavior (see: the rising rates of ADHD
diagnosis), and failing to support kids to reach their full potential. In the
intervening decade, the world has changed drastically, with an avalanche of new
research which supports, deepens, and expands Dr. Sax’s work. This revised and
updated edition includes new findings about how boys and girls interact
differently with social media and video games; a completely new discussion of
research on gender non-conforming, LGB, and transgender kids, new findings
about how girls and boys see differently, hear differently, and even smell
differently; and new material about the medicalization of bad behavior. |
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The Wonder Weeks, Revised Edition. Hetty van de
Rijt & Frans Plooij, $25.95
How to stimulate the most important developmental weeks
in your baby's first 20 months, and turn these ten predictable, great, fussy
phases into magical leaps forward!
- See the world through your baby’s perspective
- Learn how to encourage each leap foreword
- Help your baby with the three C's of fussy behavior Cranky,
Clingy, Crying
- Know which games and toys are best during each key week
- Use calendars, charts and checklists to make sense of their
behavior
- Week-by-week guide to baby’s behavior
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The Yes Brain: How to Cultivate Courage, Curiosity,
and Resilience In Your Child. Daniel Siegel & Tina Payne Bryson, $23.00
When facing challenges, unpleasant tasks, and contentious
issues such as homework, screen time, food choices, and bedtime, children often
act out or shut down, responding with reactivity instead of receptivity. This
is what New York Times bestselling authors Daniel Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson
call a No Brain response. But our kids can be taught to approach life with
openness and curiosity. Parents can foster their children’s ability to say yes
to the world and welcome all that life has to offer, even during difficult
times. This is what it means to cultivate a Yes Brain.
When kids work from a Yes Brain, they’re more willing to
take chances and explore. They’re more curious and imaginative, less worried
about making mistakes. They’re better at relationships and more flexible and
resilient when it comes to handling adversity and big feelings. They work from
a clear internal compass that directs their decisions, as well as the way they
treat others. Guided by their Yes Brain, they become more open, creative, and
resilient. In The Yes Brain, the authors give parents skills, scripts,
ideas, and activities to bring kids of all ages into the overwhelmingly
beneficial “yes” state.
With inspirational anecdotes, fun and helpful
illustrations, and a handy Yes Brain Refrigerator Sheet to keep your family on
point, The Yes Brain is an essential tool for nurturing positive
potential and keeping your child’s inner spark glowing and growing strong—and
gifting your children with a life of rich relational connections, meaningful
interactions with the world, and emotional equanimity. |
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Your Self-Motivated Baby: Enhance Your Baby's Social
and Cognitive Development in the First Six Months of Life through Movement. Beverly
Stokes, $32.49
A hands-on guide for communicating with babies in their
first six months and nurturing their physical, social, and cognitive
development, Your Self-Motivated
Baby shows parents and other caregivers how to interact with very young infants
and understand what they are expressing in their movements. Color photographs
throughout the book show babies' motivation in play and how subtle interactions
build bonding and encourage development. Following advice from author Beverly
Stokes, a seasoned developmental movement educator, adults learn how to relate
to babies and communicate effectively with them. Beverly Stokes makes it clear
that preverbal babies are giving cues for caregiver participation very early
on; it's up to us to try to understand them better. By communicating with
babies sensitively in the first six months of their lives, we help them to
establish the foundation for a healthy, confident, and joyful life. |
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You're Ruining My Life!
Surviving the Teenage Years with Connected Parenting. Jennifer
Kolari, $21.00 
In her new book, Jennifer Kolari applies
her empathic approach to parenting to what may be the most difficult time for
parents — adolescence. Combining her own experience as a therapist with the most
recent scientific information about mental processes, she explains what's going
on inside the teenage brain as well as what's going on in their world. This
understanding allows parents to de-escalate confrontations by applying
techniques such as CALM (Connect, Affect, Listen, Mirror) that bypass language
and go directly to the part of the brain that regulates emotion. By
understanding how teens think (or don't think) parents come to see why it's so
important to create and maintain a strong emotional bond that will allow their
almost grown-up children to correct and contain unacceptable behaviours. |
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